There's No Place Like Home
by JessCM09
Summary: Alex's play is right around the corner, but what will happen when the team gets called away? Will Emily make it back in time for Alex's big debut or will the teen be forced to go on without her? Find out in the fifth story in my little series.
1. Chapter 1

**Hello again my lovely readers!**

**This took me a lot longer than I thought it would, but I had my birthday this weekend and ended up being away from the house for most of it! I pretty much know what I'm doing with this story and I'm excited for it, so I'm really hoping that all of you will enjoy it as well!**

**Thanks for sticking with me! -J**

**Chapter 1**

It didn't take long for the Prentiss/Jareau clan to figure out that moving into their new home would be a lot more work than they had anticipated. Not only did the three females have to pack up the contents of the condo, but they also had to pack up JJ's apartment; making decisions about what things they needed to take with them, and what they had duplicates of. Since they still had to work, which meant travel, Emily hired painters to paint every room, wanting to make the house their own, but knowing it would take professionals a lot less time to finish then it would them. So as soon as they took possession of the house, the painters set to work, while JJ, Emily and Alex spent all their time outside of work and school packing.

It was the Saturday before the last week of school before Christmas holidays started, when the family was finally able to move in to the house; hiring movers as well as enlisting the help of their friends in order to get all their things moved and unpacked. It was a long process, but with everyone's help everything had been moved from the condo, as well as JJ's apartment and delivered to the new house where everyone was now split amongst the various rooms, unpacking and setting things up. Furniture was being put together, boxes were being emptied and items were being placed, and then replaced as JJ made her way into each room; constantly changing her mind about where things should and shouldn't go.

Knowing JJ was likely to change her mind a million times throughout the next week, Emily chose to focus her attention on simply getting things out of their boxes; placing them where she thought they should go, and accepting the fact that they would be moved by the time she looked for them next. The brunette was currently in the kitchen with Garcia and Reid; Reid and Garcia unpacking things while Emily placed them in what she hoped would be the appropriate cupboard, watching as Rossi worked in the family room with Hotch, both men looking annoyed as JJ stood close by, giving them both orders.

"Hey Princess, all of Alex's furniture is set up and her and her minions are already filling everything up," Morgan said as he came down the stairs, referring to Olivia, Spencer and Zoey who had come over to help Alex set up her room. "Do you want me to head up to your room?"

"That would be great," Emily smiled. "Why don't you take Rossi and Hotch up with you too, I'm sure Jen can handle things in the family room on her own now," she suggested, taking pity on her friends.

Hearing this Hotch and Rossi immediately headed for the stairs, anxious to escape the blonde who had become increasingly bossy, and just a little scary the further she got into her pregnancy.

"You know it's looking really great in here Emster," Garcia said as she handed the brunette a stack of plates.

"It really is," Emily smiled as she took a look around. "And we're almost finished with all the main rooms, which is really all we need to get done today," she pointed out happily.

"Which is a good thing since Blondie over there is just going to change everything anyways," Garcia said, pointing to JJ who was currently rearranging the DVDs on the shelf that Rossi had previously filled.

"Hey let her do it," Emily said. "At least she has stopped trying to do all the heavy lifting."

"This is true," Garcia laughed. "Because God forbid any of us tell her she shouldn't be doing something. Reid already made her cry once."

"I did not make her cry," Reid argued. "I was just concerned about her carrying that box of books. It's her hormones that are making her cry not me."

"Don't let her hear you say that," Emily mumbled, seeing her girlfriend making her way over.

"Oh Em, do you think that's the right cupboard for the plates?" JJ asked as she came in, Emily glaring at Garcia who was quietly snickering beside her.

"Uh I thought they would be okay here," Emily said. "But we can move them somewhere else if you'd prefer," she suggested, wanting to keep the blonde happy.

"I just thought they would be better over here," JJ said pointing to the cupboard closer to the refrigerator.

"You know what that's a good idea," Emily relented, immediately pulling the plates out of the cupboard and moving them to the one JJ pointed to. "You know it's getting kind of late we should probably feed the troops soon. Does pizza sound good?"

"Pizza sounds great," JJ replied happily. "The baby's getting pretty hungry. I can order if you want."

"That would be perfect," Emily said. "You can just get the usual, but you might want to check with the girls first because I think Alex mentioned that Zoey is doing he whole vegetarian thing now."

"I think you're right, I'll go make sure though," JJ said. "See you in a little bit gorgeous," she said, giving the brunette a quick kiss before heading for the stairs.

"You totally did that to distract her from moving everything around in here didn't you?" Garcia asked, coming up beside the profiler.

"I have no idea what you're talking about," Emily replied, grabbing another stack of dishes and placing them in the cupboard. "Now get back to work or there will be no pizza for you."

**CM-CM-CM-CM-CM-CM-CM-CM-CM-CM-CM-CM-CM-CM-CM**

"Hey it's looking good in here," JJ said as she walked into Alex's room where she and the girls were currently unpacking her boxes.

The teen had chosen to paint her room the same colour as the room she had in the condo since it already matched her things and she loved it so much. Emily had found some fabric that matched her duvet, to cover the window seat cushions, and Alex and JJ had picked out some pillows earlier in the week as well. With most of her boxes already unpacked, the room was beginning to look like it belonged to a teenage girl, and JJ could tell that Alex couldn't be happier with it.

"I love this room JJ," Alex called happily from where she was hanging up clothes in her closet. "Like I don't really know if you can be in love with a room, but I definitely am. I never want to leave."

"None of us want to leave," Olivia added as she handed Alex another outfit to hang up. "I so want to move in here with you Lex."

"Me too," Spencer and Zoey both agreed.

"Well somehow I don't think your parents will let you all move in," JJ laughed. "But you guys can stay for dinner," she said. "We're ordering pizza I just wanted to come up and see what you guys wanted. You're a vegetarian now right Zoey?"

"Right," Zoey replied. "But I will eat anything without meat."

"Alright we'll get a veggie pizza for you then," JJ said. "And what would the rest of you like?"

"I'll eat whatever," Spencer replied from her spot on the floor as she continued to pull things out of boxes.

"Yeah me too, I'm not picky," Olivia said.

"Just no mushrooms," Alex said with a smile.

"Yeah, yeah I think I've got that one down," JJ laughed, as she headed back towards the door. "I'll let you girls know when the food is here."

"Thanks," the girls all called as they got back to work.

"Hey JJ wait up," Alex said, following the blonde out of her bedroom and into the hallway.

"What's up?" JJ asked, looking at the teen in confusion.

"Umm do you think…well do you think Logan could come by?" The teen stuttered, blushing in embarrassment. "Maybe stay for dinner."

"Of course," JJ replied with a smile. "But are you sure you want to do that with the whole team here?"

"Yeah I think he can handle it. I mean he already met Morgan and Garcia and they're definitely the worst," Alex laughed. "Plus between play rehearsal, school and the house, we haven't really gotten to see much of each other lately."

While Alex and Logan still weren't officially a couple, the pair were enjoying getting to know each other, and had been spending as much time as they could together while at school. Since the play was coming up that week, Alex had rehearsal every night after school, and therefore needed to use her weekends to keep on track with her schoolwork, and so there had yet to be a second date.

"Alright well I will let Em know then," the blonde said before heading towards the master suite to ask the rest of the guys what they wanted on their pizzas.

After getting their orders, and asking Morgan to move their full-length mirror to the other side of the closet door, JJ headed back downstairs to call the pizza place and then check on the kitchen.

"Hey Em, Alex asked if she could invite Logan over and I said yes," the blonde called as she made her way towards the brunette who was just finishing up with the last box of kitchen things. "I hope that's okay."

"That is more than okay!" Garcia replied happily, anxious to get another chance to talk to the young boy who was interested in her favourite "little Princess".

"Yeah that's fine," Emily laughed, shaking her head at her friend's excitement. "Did you call for the pizzas?"

"Yep," JJ replied. "They should be here in a half hour or so."

"Perfect," Emily smiled, leaning forward to give the blonde a quick peck. "I can't believe Alex is inviting Logan over with everyone here. She must be serious about him."

"She's definitely crushing pretty hard," JJ agreed.

"Alex has a boyfriend?" Reid asked curiously as he began to tidy up the empty boxes.

"He's not officially her boyfriend," Emily replied, having been told by the teen countless times in the past two weeks that they were not a couple yet. "But they went on a date and they really like each other."

"Oh young love," Garcia practically squealed. "It's just so adorable," she continued as the ringing of the doorbell echoed throughout the house. "Oh do you think that's him? Can I get it?" She asked excitedly, already heading towards the door before anyone could tell her no.

Rushing towards the front entrance, Garcia wasted no time in throwing the door open, startling the blonde boy standing on the other side.

"Logan, hi," the bubbly blonde greeted with a big smile on her face.

"Uh hi," Logan replied uncertainly. "It's Penelope right?"

"Aw you remember how sweet," Garcia gushed. "Come right on in cutie, Lexi is just upstairs," she said, ushering the now slightly scared looking teen into the house.

"Hi Logan," Emily greeted, coming around the corner, unable to hold back a laugh at the look on the young boys face. "How are you?"

"I'm good thank you," Logan replied politely. "This house is gorgeous. How's everything going here?"

"It's a lot of work but it's going well," Emily smiled. "Let me just get Lex for you. Her and the girls are just upstairs," she explained before moving to stand at the bottom of the stairs. "Alex, Logan is here," she yelled, immediately hearing the teen's hurried footsteps.

"Hi," Alex greeted Logan with a smile, slightly out of breath since she had run down the stairs. "Have you been here long?" She asked, concerned since Garcia was there, and was likely to harass the boy if left alone with him for long.

"No I just got here," Logan replied.

"Is dinner going to be here soon?" Alex asked, turning her attention to Emily.

"About 20 minutes," Emily replied.

"Is it okay if Logan comes upstairs until then?" The teen asked, unsure of what the rules about boys in her bedroom would be in this particular instance.

"Um yeah that's fine," Emily replied, allowing Logan upstairs since the girls were all over anyways. "I will call you down when the food gets here."

The older brunette watched as Alex gestured for Logan to follow her towards the stairs, smiling as the young boy reached for Alex's hand when he thought they were out of sight.

"You know you Prentiss ladies sure have a type," Garcia said, interrupting Emily's thoughts.

"What are you talking about?" Emily asked, raising her eyebrow in confusion.

"I'm talking about that blonde hair and those blue eyes of his," Garcia explained. "Reminds me of someone else I know."

Having never noticed this before, Emily couldn't help but smile. "Hmm I guess you're right," she said, putting an arm around her friend's shoulder before leading her back towards the kitchen, where she knew she would find her own blonde-haired, blue-eyed beauty rummaging through the kitchen cupboards yet again.

**CM-CM-CM-CM-CM-CM-CM-CM-CM-CM-CM-CM-CM-CM-CM-CM-CM**

"So Alex are you nervous for Thursday?" Hotch asked as the entire group sat in various places throughout the living room and dining room enjoying their pizza.

"A little," Alex admitted. "But I'm more excited than nervous. I really just can't wait for everyone to see it."

"She's got nothing to be nervous about," Zoey said, having seen Alex at rehearsal every day. "She's going to kill it."

"Zoey's right," Logan agreed. "This is going to be the best play we've put on in a long time," he added, all three of Alex's friends nodding in agreement.

"And are you in this play as well Logan?" Rossi, who had been grilling Logan with questions since dinner arrived, asked.

"Oh no I'm not much of a singer," Logan replied with a laugh. "Actually not much of an actor either. I helped build and decorate the sets."

"Which look amazing," Alex added, looking pointedly at Rossi, silently willing him to stop asking so many questions.

"When is your family getting here JJ?" Reid asked, knowing the blonde was excited for her parents and brother to visit.

"They should be here Thursday afternoon," JJ replied. "Adam and Sara managed to get the day off so they could get here for the play," she explained. "They're all going to stay with us through Christmas too. And Lily cannot stop talking about getting to see you Lex. She's so excited to get to share a room with you."

"I can't wait to see her either," Alex replied with a laugh. "It'll be nice having them all here."

The group continued to enjoy their dinner, all chatting and laughing; the men of the BAU continuously throwing questions at Logan, who always answered without hesitation, not at all bothered by the interrogation.

"Play any sports Logan?" Morgan asked, sometime later when everyone had already finished with dinner, all still gathered around, talking lazily.

"No not really," Logan replied. "I used to play baseball but I eventually just grew out of it. Stopped enjoying it really," he explained. "I prefer to stick to art, and building stuff. I'm learning to play the guitar though too."

"Oh a musician!" Garcia exclaimed happily.

"I wouldn't say that," Logan laughed. "I'm not very good, but I'm hoping to get a little better. Music is my elective this year."

"Well I think that's great," Emily smiled, liking this boy more and more, even though she wasn't quite ready for her fourteen year old to have a boyfriend.

"Would it be okay if we go play cards or something?" Alex finally asked, wanting to get Logan away from the millions of questions her mother's co-workers seemed to have.

"Yeah go ahead," Emily replied with a grin, knowing that Alex was getting annoyed with everyone's questions.

With Emily's permission, the 5 teens stood up, following Alex down the hall towards the empty room, which would eventually house the pool table that JJ had purchased for Emily for Christmas.

"You know he seems like a pretty good kid," Hotch said once the teens were out of earshot. "Alex could do a lot worse."

"I think he's great for her," JJ agreed. "But Emily is still uncomfortable with the idea of Alex having a boyfriend."

"I am not uncomfortable," Emily argued as JJ raised an eyebrow in disbelief. "I just prefer the idea of them taking their time and dating for a while."

"Emily's right, she's too young for a boyfriend" Rossi said, as Garcia and JJ both began to giggle.

"I think Grandpa Rossi is feeling a little overprotective today," Garcia said in a singsong voice as JJ continued to laugh.

"I am not," he denied.

"I don't know Rossi," JJ laughed. "You did ask the kid an awful lot of questions," she pointed out as the rest of the group began to laugh at the look on the older man's face.

"I'm not old enough to be a grandfather by the way," Rossi replied grumpily as everyone continued to laugh.

"Keep telling yourself that old man," Morgan kept laughing, just as JJ's phone began to ring, interrupting the carefree moment the team was enjoying.

Looking at her caller-id JJ didn't recognize the number; throwing Emily a quick look before getting up to answer the phone in another room. Emily watched as JJ left the room; worry filling her gut as she prayed that the team wasn't getting called away for a case this close to Alex's big night.

"Do you think it's a case?" Reid asked the question on everyone's mind.

"God I hope not," Garcia sighed as JJ came back into the room, her hand covering her phone; someone clearly still on the line.

"Hotch can I talk to you?" The media liaison asked, before once again leaving the room, not looking up to meet anyone's eye. Hotch quickly got up and followed the blonde, knowing that the call was definitely work related; hoping that he wouldn't have to bring the team away when he knew Alex was relying on all of them being there for her on Thursday.

"Well it's definitely a case," Morgan pointed out unnecessarily as everyone noticed the worried look on Emily's face, as the brunette began chewing at her lip anxiously.

"Em will you have to go?" Garcia asked, knowing that it would kill the profiler if she missed Alex's play.

"I don't know," Emily replied. "Strauss would have to okay it for me to stay back and I honestly don't know if she will," she explained, knowing it was likely that the Section Chief would want Emily travelling with the team given the amount of time off she had already taken in the last few months.

Silence fell over the group as they waited for their two colleagues to return, the other members of the team chancing glances at Emily who had begun picking her nails nervously. It was nearly ten minutes later when JJ and Hotch finally came back into the room, five heads turning in their direction expectantly. Emily knew as soon as she met JJ's eyes that she wasn't going to like what she was about to hear, knowing that she was going to have to deliver some bad news to her teenager as well.

"Wheels up at 9am," Hotch announced, everyone's shoulder's sagging in disappointment; their carefree night officially over. "Everyone needs to be on the plane," he said, looking towards Emily. "Strauss' orders."

The brunette nodded silently, feeling the rest of the teams' gaze on her as she kept her head down, knowing that if she looked up she would find 6 sets of sad eyes looking back at her; something, which she didn't think she could handle right now. Emily couldn't help but sigh as she felt JJ sit down next to her, the blonde immediately reaching for her hand and giving it a reassuring squeeze.

"We might be back before Thursday," JJ told her quietly. "We might not miss it."

"Yeah," Emily replied, sounding sad. "Maybe," she muttered, knowing that there was a good chance the team would be gone longer than the five days they had before the plane. The brunette also knew that there was no way Alex was going to understand her leaving right now; and frankly she just couldn't blame her for that.


	2. Chapter 2

**Hello my friends!**

**I've got chapter 2 ready to go for you and I'm really hoping that you guys are going to enjoy it! I tried to put myself in Alex's shoes and I think this one would be really hard for her to deal with (as she is 14 and she does really want her mother to be there for her). I think her reaction is going to play a big part of the story and I hope that I wrote it okay!**

**The next chapter will probably take me a little longer to get done, but as always I will do my best!**

**Enjoy- J**

**Chapter 2**

The team remained silent as they all watched Emily, who was clearly struggling with the fact that she had to leave and even worse, disappoint her daughter. JJ continued to hold the brunette's hand, offering her silent support as the rest of the team looked on, no one really knowing what to say to make their friend feel better. Everyone was so lost in thought and disappointment that they didn't even hear the sound of footsteps coming down the hallway, as the five teens came back into the room.

"Hey Emily do we have any ice cr….what's wrong?" She asked, stopping in her tracks as she noticed the morose looks on the team members' faces. "What happened?"

Emily looked up, suddenly feeling even guiltier, having no idea how to tell her daughter that she had to leave the next morning. The brunette opened her mouth, searching for words, but when none came, simply closed her mouth again, shaking her head.

"JJ?" Alex said, turning her attention to the blonde who was pinching the bridge of her nose, avoiding the gaze of the young brunette. "What's the matter? Can someone please answer me?"

"We got a case," Hotch finally answered, seeing that Emily and JJ were struggling. "We all have to leave in the morning. Strauss' orders," he explained, not wanting the teen to blame her mother.

"You're leaving?" Alex asked in disbelief, turning her attention back to Emily, who was biting her lip.

"I have to," Emily replied, sounding defeated, thankful that JJ was still holding her hand in support.

"But what about Thursday?" Alex asked, her voice worried and obviously upset. "How can you just…" she began, choking off when emotion filled her voice, obviously trying to keep from crying. Looking at her mother in disbelief, Alex hesitated before turning on her heel, heading for the stairs.

As soon as the teen turned to leave, Emily was out of her seat, releasing JJ's hand as she quickly moved to intercept her daughter on the stairs. "Alex," she called when she reached the bottom, causing Alex to stop halfway up. "Please don't walk away like that."

"I have to," Alex replied, taking a deep breath. "I'm not doing this in front of everyone," she said, turning around to face the older brunette, who was now standing one step below her. "How can you go now? You're going to miss…you won't be here for…"

"We don't know that," Emily interrupted. "We could be back in time. We've had cases that have taken less than 5 days before."

"Yeah and you've also had cases that have lasted longer," Alex replied, shaking her head. "I thought you said you would try to get out of leaving so you could be here for the play?"

"Honey I did," Emily said. "I promise I did, but this is out of Hotch's control. Strauss wants us all on the case. If I don't go I'll get fired," she explained, knowing that the Section Chief wouldn't hesitate to get rid of her if she disobeyed her orders.

"God forbid," Alex bit out.

"Alex you told me to keep this job," Emily tried to reason. "I told you I would leave it for you, but you insisted that you could handle this."

"Yeah well I didn't realize that meant I would always be coming in second place to your work," Alex replied harshly, making Emily flinch before once again turning on her heel to climb the rest of the stairs.

"Where are you going?" Emily asked, not yet finished discussing this issue with the teen.

"To pack a bag for Spencer's."

"Lex we aren't leaving until the morning," Emily said, following the younger brunette to the top of the stairs. "You don't need to leave tonight."

"Well I'd rather just go now," the teen said, shaking her head as she turned around to once again face her mother.

"Alex we need to talk about this," Emily replied, her voice softening in sadness, seeing Alex putting up the walls that the Prentiss women were so famous for. "Please, don't go like this. You know I don't want to leave right now."

"Emily just forget about it okay?" Alex said, shaking her head in frustration. "It's your job. I get it. It's more important."

"No Lex that's not true," Emily argued. "Nothing is more important than you."

"Obviously that's not true," Alex shouted, her frustration finally getting the best of her.

"Alex…"

"Emily, please!" The teen yelled. "Please," she repeated, her anger deflating as sadness filled her eyes. "I don't want to talk about this. I just want to be alone."

"Okay…" Emily sighed, seeing that the teen was struggling to hold back tears. "I'll give you some time, but come see me before you leave okay? Please?"

"Okay," Alex relented sadly before turning and heading towards her bedroom.

Emily took a moment, standing at the top of the stairs with her head hanging, feeling like she had royally screwed up this time and having no idea how to make it better. Taking a deep breath, the brunette turned around, making her way downstairs and towards the family room where every head turned her way, looking sad, having clearly heard most of the conversation on the stairs.

"Spencer, Alex is packing a bag," Emily said turning her attention towards the group of teenagers who were looking anxious. "You all should go make sure she's okay," she suggested, as all four immediately stood and headed for the stairs.

"Em?" JJ asked, getting up and making her way over to her girlfriend.

"I'm fine," Emily insisted, shaking her head, no one missing the sadness written all over the profiler's face.

"Emily I'm really sorry about this," Hotch said, wishing there was more he could do for his friend.

"I know Hotch," Emily replied. "It's not your fault. Honestly I'm fine," she lied, suddenly feeling anything but fine.

**CM-CM-CM-CM-CM-CM-CM-CM-CM-CM-CM-CM-CM-CM-CM-CM-CM**

"Lex? You okay?" Spencer asked as she led Olivia, Zoey and Logan into their friend's bedroom.

"I'm fine," Alex replied quietly, wiping away the few tears that had managed to escape, as she turned her back to the group, busying herself with packing for Spencer's.

"You don't really seem fine," Logan said, worried by Alex's abnormally quiet demeanor.

"Well I am," Alex replied. "It is what it is. It's fine. Whatever."

"Lex it's only Saturday," Zoey pointed out. "They might still be back for Thursday."

"Yeah…maybe," the brunette shrugged, still keeping her back towards her friends.

"You know the whole team is pretty upset," Olivia added. "They all feel really bad."

At this Alex wasn't sure what to say. She knew that the team didn't want to leave her, especially this week, but she couldn't help but feel betrayed.

"Look I appreciate you guys coming up here but I just really want to be alone for a little while okay?" Alex finally said, turning around, but keeping her eyes downcast. "Spence I'll meet you at your house in a little bit."

"Sure," Spencer agreed with a nod, understanding that Alex didn't want to fall apart in front of anyone else. "I'll see you later," she said before heading towards the door.

"See you Lex," Zoey said, giving the taller brunette a hug before following Spencer.

"I'll call you tomorrow," Olivia said while also giving her friend a hug.

Alex watched as the three girls left the room, all looking back uncertainly as Logan lingered in the room, wanting a moment alone with Alex. Feeling slightly embarrassed that Logan had been around to witness her little outburst with her mother, Alex had a difficult time meeting the blonde's boys gaze; her eyes so firmly rooted to the floor, that she didn't even notice that Logan was now standing directly in front of her.

"You going to be okay?" He asked softly, placing a finger under Alex's chin, forcing her to look him in the eyes. Not sure she could answer, Alex simply nodded, her eyes shiny with tears. "Call me tomorrow okay?"

"Okay," Alex replied quietly, allowing herself a small smile as the blonde boy leant forward to place a soft kiss on her cheek, before walking out into the hallway where Alex's three friends were still waiting.

Now alone, the teen allowed a few more tears to falls, both upset and frustrated by the whole situation. While Alex knew that Emily didn't want to leave, and was likely just as upset as she was by the whole thing, the teen couldn't help but feel angry at the unfairness of it all. Normally levelheaded and rather mature for her age, the teen just couldn't find a way to understand this one. It just didn't seem fair. Alex, who hardly ever asked for anything, just wanted this one thing; just wanted her mothers and the rest of her family to be there for her Thursday night. Angry, Alex threw open her dresser drawer and began throwing clothes on top of her bag, desperate to get her things together and get out of the house.

Busy throwing things across the room into her bag on her bed, the teen didn't hear anyone coming up the stairs and approach her room until the sound of a throat clearing pulled her from her semi-tantrum. Expecting Morgan, Alex was surprised when she looked up to find Hotch standing at her door.

"Oh, hi," Alex greeted quietly, her cheeks burning in embarrassment.

"May I come in?" Hotch asked, looking slightly uncomfortable.

"Uh…sure," Alex replied, quickly stuffing her clothes into her bag hastily, as her mother's boss stepped into her bedroom.

"Alex I'm really sorry about all of this," Hotch said, taking a seat in the teen's desk chair while Alex sat cross-legged on her bed. "I know you're upset, but I hope you know that this isn't Emily's fault. She doesn't want to go any more than you want her to go."

"I know," Alex replied quietly. "But that doesn't really make this any easier," she admitted with a shrug.

"You know, every time I get a case; every time I get called away from my family, it tears me up," Hotch explained. "It kills me because I know that I'm letting Haley down. I know that I'm missing out on Jack growing and I hate it," he continued. "I hate it but I do it because I know I'm making the world a safer place for Jack; for all the other kids, but I still dread the day that Jack grows up and asks me not to leave. I dread the day that he's old enough to notice that I'm not around. The day he gets angry at me for missing out. I feel for Emily because I know she has it much harder than I do right now, because she can see how disappointed you are and it's killing her."

At this Hotch paused, trying to gauge the teen's reaction, but unable to get a read on her. "Emily is good at what she does," he eventually continued. "She's a damn fine Agent, and I know that she does this job to make the world a safer place, just like the rest of us. But this job has become harder for her since you came into her life," he explained. "She struggles every time we board the jet. She thinks she hides it, but I can see it in her eyes; she feels guilty each and every time she has to leave you behind, but she does it for you Alex. I hope you know that."

At this Alex nodded, wiping away a stray tear in frustration. "It's just not fair. I want…I need her here this time," she admitted sadly.

"I know," Hotch nodded. "I'm not going to tell you not to be mad Alex, I understand really I do, but I just want you to keep all this in mind okay? And I just want you to know that the whole team is going to do everything we can to get back here for Thursday. We all want to be here for you."

"Okay," Alex nodded, unable to form a complete sentence as she tried to keep her emotions at bay.

Knowing he wasn't going to get much else out of the young girl right now, Hotch rose from his seat, stopping briefly in front of the teen to place a comforting hand on her shoulder, before heading for the door. "See you soon Alex," he said before walking out the door.

**CM-CM-CM-CM-CM-CM-CM-CM-CM-CM-CM-CM-CM-CM-CM-CM-CM-CM**

When Hotch returned downstairs he pulled Emily aside, letting her know that he had spoken to Alex, but that she was still pretty upset.

"Just give her some time," Hotch advised. "I know that's easier said than done, but I think she just needs some time to be mad," he said. "I actually think she's more angry with the situation than she is at you; she just needs someone to put the blame on."

"Thanks, Hotch," Emily said, still sounding pretty upset.

"We're going to get you back on time Emily," Hotch then assured her. "You know this team. We're all going to be working our hardest to make sure that you don't miss that play."

"I know," Emily replied with a smile.

With that Hotch returned to the living room, asking Rossi if he was ready to go, and telling the rest of the team that he would see them the next morning on the jet. Knowing that Emily was still upset, and knowing they no longer had a free Sunday, the rest of the team decided not to linger.

"We'll see you tomorrow Princess," Morgan said as he, Reid and Garcia stood to leave about 20 minutes after Hotch and Rossi. "See you Blondie. Make sure you two give Little Princess a hug for us."

"We'll try," Emily replied sadly.

"Stay strong Emster," Garcia said, giving her friend a hug. "It'll be okay."

"Thanks Garcia," Emily replied, grateful for the embrace. Holding onto her friend for just a little longer, Emily eventually let go before turning towards Reid. "See you tomorrow Reid."

"9am," Reid said, giving Emily and JJ a wave before following Morgan and Garcia out the front door.

Emily and JJ watched their friends leave, standing in the doorway for a short time, until it became too cold. Taking Emily's hand, JJ lead the brunette inside, shutting the door behind them and walking hand-in-hand back towards the family room where they both flopped down on the couch.

"I'm sorry Em," JJ said, rubbing her thumb against the back of Emily's hand.

"It's not your fault," Emily replied.

"I know that," JJ said. "But I know how important Thursday is to you. And I know you hate disappointing Lex like this," she continued. "I just hate seeing you so upset."

"I know that there's still a chance we'll be back in time for Thursday but it just scares me," Emily confessed. "I know what's it's like to have parents who are constantly disappointing you; parents who are never around, and I never wanted that for Alex, but that's exactly what I'm doing to her."

"Em you're nothing like your parents," JJ said, using a finger to turn the brunette's head to ensure that she was really hearing her. "You may work a lot but you are involved in Alex's life. When you're here you're fully invested in Lex and you're always there for her," the blonde continued. "Your parents were different. They were too busy to know what was going on with you and I know you would never let that happen with you and Alex. I would never let that happen. I know you feel like you're letting her down Em, but you need to give yourself a break."

"I just hate her being angry with me," the brunette replied sadly.

"I know," JJ said, putting an arm around Emily's shoulder and kissing her temple. "But she'll forgive you, because we are going to get back in time."

"And what if we don't?"

"Then we'll deal with that together," JJ replied. "She'll be upset, but she'll forgive that too because she loves you Em. And she knows you love her too."

Sighing, Emily placed her head on JJ's shoulder, comforted by the feeling of the blonde's hand combing through her hair. While the brunette still felt crappy, she knew that JJ had a point, and she felt confident that her team could work whatever this new case was, and get home in time to be there for Alex.

"I'm going to Spencer's now," Alex announced from behind the couch; neither woman hearing her come down the stairs.

"You sure you don't want to stay?" JJ said, as she and Emily both turned in their seats in order to face the teen. "It's our first night here."

"I'd rather just go," Alex said, shaking her head; neither woman missing the fact that the teen refused to meet their eyes.

"Okay," Emily replied as she and JJ both stood from the couch and made their way around to the other side of the couch. "You're going to come feed Sergio right?"

"Yeah," the teen replied softly, picking at loose string on her jacket sleeve.

"Okay, well we'll call you," Emily said. "And Lex we're going to try and get back. You know that right."

"I know," Alex practically whispered, sniffing as a single tear fell down her cheek.

Hating seeing the teen so upset, JJ pulled Alex into a hug, kissing the top of her head and holding her tight. "Don't give up hope kid," JJ whispered. "We'll get back in time okay?" She said, feeling the teen nodding against her shoulder. "I love you."

"Love you too," Alex replied as JJ released her.

Still upset, Alex turned to Emily with her head down, the older brunette still able to see the teen's glassy eyes.

"I'm so sorry," Emily said as she pulled Alex into a tight hug.

"I know," Alex replied quietly. "It's just…I'm just…"

"I know," Emily sighed, kissing Alex's cheek. "I love you."

"Love you too," Alex replied before pulling away and grabbing her bag off the floor so she could head for the door. Pausing with her hand on the doorknob, the teen turned back towards the two older women, looking like she wanted to say something else, before shaking her head. "Be safe," she said before opening the door and walking out.


	3. Chapter 3

**Hiiiiii….**

**So I'm SO sorry this has taken me so long! I've honestly lost track of the days of the week, I've just been so busy! I also had a hard time getting started on the case (I struggle with the cases the most), but I hope that it was worth your wait! I will try my hardest to update again as soon as possible! Thanks so much for reading! -J**

**Chapter 3**

When Alex arrived at Spencer's that night the rest of her friends had already left, including Logan who had his brother pick him up. Not really feeling like talking, Alex had told Spencer that she was going to go upstairs where she immediately put on her pajamas and got into Spencer's bed. The teen appreciated the fact that her friend allowed her the time alone, as she was still too upset to socialize with Spencer and her family.

When Spencer did finally come into the room later that night, Alex was still awake, but pretended to be asleep. She heard her friend open a drawer, most likely grabbing pajamas before going into her bathroom, where she stayed, obviously getting ready for bed. A few minutes later Alex felt the bed dip beside her as Spencer got under the covers, lying on her side facing Alex.

"I know you're not asleep," Spencer whispered, causing Alex to sigh as she opened up her eyes, vaguely making out her friend's form beside her. "Are you okay?"

"I don't know," Alex admitted. "This just sucks."

"I know, but it's not Thursday yet Lex," Spencer replied. "Don't let yourself stress about it, they could still be back in time."

"I know," Alex sighed.

"You know no matter what happens we're all going to be there for you," Spencer said. "I mean I know JJ's family is coming and Emily's mom will be there, but we all will too. My parents and Melissa are even going to come," she assured Alex. "I know that it doesn't make the fact that Emily and JJ might not be there better, but you won't be alone. You're still going to have lots of family there to see you."

"I know, and I really appreciate that Spence," Alex replied. "I just really want them there. I know I probably sound like a baby right now, and I know I'm being stubborn but I'm just so disappointed, and I'm afraid of what might happen," she confessed, her voice cracking.

"Hey it's okay," Spencer said, moving closer and pulling her friend into a hug. "You don't sound like a baby at all Lex. I completely understand why you're so upset, but it'll be okay. They're going to get back, I just know it."

"I hope you're right," Alex sniffed, taking comfort in her friend's arms.** "**I really hope you're right."

**CM-CM-CM-CM-CM-CM-CM-CM-CM-CM-CM-CM-CM-CM-CM-CM-CM-CM**

Filled with guilt, Emily struggled to fall asleep that night, spending most of the evening tossing and turning, while trying not to disturb JJ who was asleep beside her. When the alarm finally went off in the morning, the brunette felt like she had just fallen asleep, groaning and burying her face in her pillow as JJ turned off the incessant beeping.

"Why don't you rest a little longer," JJ suggested, kissing the back of Emily's head, understanding that the brunette didn't get much sleep. "I'll shower first and wake you when I get out."

"M'kay," Emily mumbled, feeling JJ leave the bed, and vaguely hearing her head into the bathroom.

As a testament to how truly exhausted she was, Emily immediately fell back asleep, not waking again until JJ was shaking her some twenty minutes later. The brunette begrudgingly rolled out of bed, dragging her feet on the way to the bathroom where she hoped a shower would help her wake up.

"I made you coffee," JJ said when Emily finally came downstairs dressed and ready to go some time later. "And there's a bagel in the toaster for you," she said as she took a bite of her own bagel, sitting at the kitchen table.

"You're the best," Emily said, kissing the blonde's head before heading towards the coffee pot where she poured herself a mug and then moved to wait for her bagel to pop. "Where are we going anyways? I never did ask you guys," the brunette said as she sat next to JJ, coffee and bagel in hand.

"Atlanta," JJ replied as she finished up the last of her bagel. "So at least it's a short flight. Makes it easier to get home," she pointed out.

"Yeah," Emily replied with a sigh, taking a sip of her coffee before picking at her bagel.

"Did you sleep at all?" The blonde asked, seeing the dark circles under Emily's eyes.

"I don't know," Emily shrugged. "A little I guess."

"Em you can't do this to yourself," JJ said, reaching out to take Emily's hand in hers. "I know you feel like you're letting Alex down but you can't tear yourself apart like this. Alex is going to forgive you, and I honestly think that deep down she understands; she's just upset right now," the blonde continued. "Give her some time."

"I just don't know how to keep my head in this case when all I want to do is be here," Emily confessed, knowing that she was likely going to struggle to sleep for the rest of the week. "For the first time in a long time I don't know how to do this job Jen. I don't know how to be okay with this right now."

"I know Em," JJ replied. "I know this seems impossible, but I also know you and I know you're going to work this case for the families because it's what you do," JJ assured her. "And when it gets too hard I'm going to be right there beside you okay?"

"Okay," Emily replied with a small smile, giving the hand in hers a squeeze. "I love you, you know that? This week isn't going to be easy on me, and I'm going to do my best to be open with you, and not to push you away," she explained. "But if I do I'm sorry, but just remember that I do love you. So much."

"I know," JJ smiled. "Don't worry I'm used to breaking down those walls of yours, and I'll keep doing it because I love you too."

**CM-CM-CM-CM-CM-CM-CM-CM-CM-CM-CM-CM-CM-CM-CM-CM-CM**

When Emily and JJ boarded the jet at 9am, the rest of the team was already there, sitting and waiting for the two females to arrive. Knowing the team would see right through her if she pretended to be fine, Emily decided to be straight, remaining silent as she and JJ took their seats together; sitting across the table from Morgan and Reid.

"Sorry guys, we hit some traffic on the way," JJ explained as they sat down.

"It's no problem," Hotch replied. "I'll let the pilot know we're ready to go and then we can get started," he said before heading towards the front of the plane.

"How are you doing Emily?" Reid asked, concerned by the brunette's silence and grim look.

"Honestly I've been better," Emily replied with a shrug. "But I'm here and I'm ready to work."

"We know you are Bella," Rossi said. "And we're all ready to get you home for our girl."

"You got that right," Morgan agreed while Reid nodded his agreement beside him.

"Thanks guys," Emily replied with a small smile, confident that if any team could solve whatever their case was in time to get her home for Alex's play, it was hers.

"Okay JJ, whenever you're ready," Hotch said as he made his way back to his seat, ready for JJ to present the case.

"Okay," JJ nodded, pulling out the stack of files she had in her briefcase and passing them out. "Atlanta PD has asked for our help in a series of murders in the area. In the last 6 weeks 3 couples have been found dead in their homes," the blonde began. "In each case the male was hit in the head before being stabbed multiple times, while each female was killed by a single stab wound to the heart."

"Couples are found every two weeks?" Rossi asked.

"Yes until last night when a 4th couple was found," JJ explained. "Taylor George and her fiancé Cameron Steel were found by Taylor's mother yesterday afternoon when they didn't show up for lunch at her house and she began to worry. They were killed sometime Friday night, same M.O as the other 3 couples, but they were found just 1 week after the last murder."

"Less time between kills could mean he's devolving," Reid said. "There's a chance he could go on a spree."

"The blow to the head is obviously to subdue the male," Morgan pointed out. "Then he what? Stabs the female in the heart before attacking the male again?"

"Or he could kill the men first," Emily replied. "Were there any signs of restraints on the women?"

"None," JJ replied.

"We'll need to see all the crime scenes and the bodies in order to get a better idea of how the situation played out," Hotch said. "For now what do we have in terms of victimology?"

"All relatively young couples," Emily pointed out. "They're all in their late 20s or early 30s. All white and physically they're all pretty similar. All the women are blondes of similar build and all the men have dark hair and are medium build."

"Which means our unsub is a white male in his late 20s to early 30s and likely looks like these men," Reid said. "He also probably recently suffered some sort of breakup or lost a girlfriend somehow."

"Something else that you might find interesting," JJ said. "2 of the couples had only been married a few months while the other two were engaged and set to be married this year."

"So it's likely that our unsub was engaged," Rossi said. "And he has to be stalking his victims. I mean they're not just victims of opportunity."

"Alright when we land I want Prentiss and Morgan at the latest crime scene and see if you can get into any of the other houses as well," Hotch ordered. "Rossi and I will head to the morgue to talk to the M.E. Reid work out a geographical profile at the station and JJ go with Reid and see if you can meet with any of the family of our victims. We need to find out where the unsub is finding his targets."

Everyone nodded their reply, watching as Hotch then moved to the back of the plane, obviously dismissing them for the rest of the flight. Rossi lingered a moment before standing and moving to join Hotch while Emily, Morgan, Reid and JJ remained seated around the table, not feeling the need to stretch out since their flight would be short.

"You excited to spend the day with me Princess?" Morgan teased.

"It's a dream come true buddy," Emily replied with a smirk. "Just a dream come true."

**CM-CM-CM-CM-CM-CM-CM-CM-CM-CM-CM-CM-CM-CM-CM-CM-CM**

**"**So what's going to happen this week really?" Morgan asked later when the team had landed and he and Emily were alone in one of the SUVs, headed for the latest crime scene. "I mean you can't tell me that if we're not done here by Thursday you're really going to stick around."

"I don't have much of a choice now do I?" Emily replied, really wishing Morgan would let this drop for now. "I can't just leave."

"Why not?"

"Strauss isn't happy with the amount of time I've taken off lately," Emily explained. "If I leave it'll give her the perfect excuse to suspend me or remove me from the team completely."

"Aw come on Em you know Hotch isn't going to let that happen," Morgan pointed out. "Plus I'm sure you could go to the director yourself. I mean isn't he a friend of your mother's?"

"I'm not going to use my last name like that," Emily replied, quickly shooting Morgan down. "Plus this is the job Morgan. It's what we all signed up for. I'm not going to be able to leave a case every time I'm forced to miss out on something at home, and yes it sucks, and yes I hate that Alex is mad at me but unfortunately this is going to happen again and again. We're both going to have to get used to that sooner or later," the brunette explained sadly, obviously hating this fact.

"Yeah but…"

"Derek please can we just drop this?" Emily interrupted, clearly agitated. "I can't keep talking about this. I'm here. I need to keep my head in the case and I can't do that like this, so please let's not talk about it anymore," the brunette practically begged. "Okay?"

"Okay," Morgan nodded, seeing the frustration on his friend's face. "Do you think this guy is gonna strike again before we get the chance to learn anything?" He asked, knowing that Emily would appreciate the topic change.

"Most likely," Emily replied. "He's already broken pattern in his last kill, meaning he'll either start killing once a week or even sooner."

"Which would give him less time to stalk out his victims," Morgan pointed out.

"Which means he'll start making mistakes," Emily said as they pulled up to the house where Taylor George and Cameron Steel lived. "And once he starts making mistakes we'll find him," she said pulling out her phone as the pair got out of the car.

"Texting Blondie already?" Morgan asked, thinking that the brunette was sending a message to JJ.

"No, Alex," Emily replied. "Just want to let her know we're here and ask her to call me later," she explained, hitting send before pocketing her phone.

Since Taylor and Cameron had only been found the day before, the house was still combing with police; tape sectioning off the area, as neigbours and reporters looked on from the sidewalk. Emily and Morgan flashed their badges to a cop standing at the door before heading inside.

"You must be the FBI," an older cop greeted them when they walked in. "I'm Officer Fralick. Detective Foster told me you were coming," the man explained, holding out his hands for Emily and Derek to take.

"Agent Prentiss," Emily greeted. "And this is Agent Morgan."

"We left everything how we found it like you asked," the Officer said. "Although we did have to move the bodies. Did you want me to take you through?"

"We actually prefer to go through everything alone first," Morgan replied. "We like to draw our own conclusions. We'll find you when we're finished?"

"Sounds good," Fralick replied. "I'll let the other officers know to give you your space," he said. "Bodies were found upstairs in the bedroom. You can't miss it."

"Thank you," Emily said before following Morgan towards the stairs.

The pair made their way into the bedroom, both silently walking around to survey the area, Morgan pulling out a pad of paper to write his findings while Emily took out a camera. They worked like this for nearly ten minutes, neither saying a word as they seemed to perform a choreographed dance; walking around each other, as they both took in what had happened here Friday night.

"So the unsub comes in here, knowing that our couple is getting ready for bed," Morgan finally says, breaking the silence. "Taylor is in the bathroom getting ready and our unsub comes in and hits Cameron over the head, instantly bringing him down and obviously alerting Taylor to his presence."

"So then does he risk leaving Cameron on the floor and going for Taylor or does he attack Cameron first?" Emily asked, voicing the question that was stumping her most.

"We'll have to talk to Hotch and Rossi but I'm willing to bet that he stabs Cameron enough to keep him down before attacking Taylor," Morgan said. "He stabs her in the heart and then goes back and kills Cameron," he explained uncertainly.

"Seems like the only thing that makes sense," Emily agreed. "So now how did this guy get in the house?"

"That's what I'm wondering," Morgan replied. "Let's head downstairs," he said before heading towards the hallway and down the stairs. "Officer Fralick," the Profiler called when they were back in the family room. "Were there any signs of forced entry?"

"No, but we think the guy may be coming through the garages," the Officer explained leading the two Agents towards the kitchen where there was an entry for the garage. "This door was unlocked, same thing as the other three houses so if he somehow got into the garage he could have easily got into the house."

"It wouldn't be hard for someone to get their hands on an opener and wire it for the garage," Emily said. "We've seen it before and lots of people don't think to lock the door into the house from the garage."

"That's what we thought too," Officer Fralick nodded.

"Which means this guy is definitely stalking these couples," Morgan concluded. "The similarities between the couples, paired with the fact that he knew how to get into the house so easily means he has to have been following them," he explained. "We need to get with JJ. We need to talk to all the families and find out every thing we can about these couples. We need to figure out where he's finding them before he strikes again."

**CM-CM-CM-CM-CM-CM-CM-CM-CM-CM-CM-CM-CM-CM-CM-CM-CM**

Alex and Spencer spent their Sunday morning doing homework, before making their way over to Alex's house to feed Sergio. They spent a short while with the black kitten before returning to the Hastings, Spencer sticking a movie in to prepare for a lazy day at home.

Spencer hadn't mentioned Emily or JJ all morning, and Alex appreciated the fact that her friend understood that she really didn't want to discuss the issue anymore. Emily had text Alex that morning, letting her know they had made it to Atlanta, but the teen hadn't responded, unsure if she wanted to call the older brunette later or not.

"Your phone's buzzing," Spencer said, pulling Alex from her thoughts, pointing to Alex's cell, which was indeed vibrating on the table.

Leaning forward the screen indicated that it was Logan calling, a fact that put a small smile on the teen's face. "It's Logan. I'll be right back," Alex said as she stood from the couch, heading towards the stairs so she could talk to the blonde boy in private. "Hello," she answered once she was up in Spencer's room.

"Hey," Logan replied, the sound of a smile evident in his voice. "How's it going?"

"Good," Alex replied, sounding a lot happier than she felt. "I'm just having a movie day with Spencer. How are you?"

"I'm good," Logan replied. "Actually heading out to this art show with my mom in a little bit. I just wanted to check in and make sure you were okay," he said, his sincerity and concern nearly bringing Alex to tears.

"I-I'm okay," Alex replied, trying her best to keep the emotions out of her voice.

"Alex," Logan said, his tone indicating that he wasn't buying it. "It's okay to be upset you know."

"I know," Alex sighed. "I'm just embarrassed," she confessed. "I really wish you and the girls hadn't been there for all of that yesterday."

"Why not?"

"Because it's childish," Alex practically scoffed. "I basically threw a fit because my mommy had to leave. It's embarrassing."

"You have nothing to be embarrassed of," Logan assured her. "Your reaction was completely understandable. You're disappointed. Anyone would be," he said. "I don't think any less of you because of it and neither do the girls. I just hate seeing you so sad."

"Thanks," Alex replied with a small smile that the blonde couldn't see. "I….I'm obviously not okay, but I will be," she said. "I just need to keep my focus on the play and make sure I'm ready for Thursday. I'll deal with Emily and JJ not being there when the time comes…if it comes. Thank you…for checking in on me."

"Of course," Logan replied. "I'm here if you ever need to talk, okay? Call whenever."

"Thanks Logan," Alex smiled.

"Anytime," Logan said. "I'll see you tomorrow Lex."

"See you tomorrow," Alex replied, hanging up before letting herself fall back on Spencer's bed.

**CM-CM-CM-CM-CM-CM-CM-CM-CM-CM-CM-CM-CM-CM-CM-CM-CM**

The team worked straight through the day, stopping only to grab dinner when it became evident by the constant sounds of grumbling stomachs, that they needed to refuel. Hotch and Rossi explained to the team that the M.E had determined that the women in all four cases had died instantly, and most likely first, while the men had been stabbed many times before eventually bleeding out. Emily and Morgan also explained what they had found, and Reid had come up with a geographical profile, determining the area where the unsub most likely lived and/or worked.

JJ had called in as many family members as she could reach, while leaving messages for others and the team had all sat down to interview them, learning as much as they could about their victims, and yet still not learning enough to determine why or how they were targeted. The team had been working so determinedly that it wasn't until Hotch looked up to find JJ sitting with her head on her hand; her eyes drifting shut, that he realized it had gotten late. Knowing they weren't doing anyone any good by wearing themselves out, Hotch sent everyone back to the hotel to get some rest, with plans to meet back at the station at 8 the next morning.

"Did Alex call at all?" JJ asked as she and Emily made their way into their room, watching as the brunette made her way towards the bed, her shoulders slumped as she placed her go-bag down.

"No," Emily replied quietly.

"Well did she text you at least?" JJ asked.

"Nope," Emily replied, keeping her back towards the blonde in order to hide the tears that were filling her eyes.

"Emily," JJ said, approaching the brunette from behind and forcing her to turn around, laying a soft kiss on her cheek. "She should still be up. Call her."

"She obviously doesn't want to talk to me," Emily said, shaking her head.

"Em she's acting like a teenager," JJ pointed out. "Don't let that push you away. You guys can't just go this whole case without speaking. At least try."

"What if she doesn't answer?" Emily asked, sounding small.

"Then at least she'll see that you tried and she'll know you're thinking of her," JJ replied.

"Okay."

"Okay," JJ said, placing a kiss on the brunette's nose. "I'm gonna grab a shower unless you want me to stay?"

"No, no I'll be fine," Emily insisted, leaning forward to give the blonde a chaste kiss. "Thanks Jen."

"Always," JJ smiled before grabbing her bag and heading into the bathroom.

Emily waited until she heard the shower turn on before pulling out her phone, sitting down and feeling embarrassingly nervous considering all she was doing was calling her daughter. Emily admittedly had no idea what to say to the teen; knowing there was nothing she could say to make up for her absence right now, but she was more worried that the brunette wouldn't pick up because she just couldn't stomach the fact that Alex was angry with her.

Hitting Alex's speed dial, Emily brought the phone up to hear ear with a deep breath, listening as the line immediately began to ring. The brunette listened and waited, picking at her nails as the phone continued to ring and ring. When the teen's voicemail picked up, Emily's shoulders once again slumped in disappointment, pulling the phone away from her ear in order to hang up. The brunette covered her face with her hands, doing her best to control the sadness that instantly consumed her because Alex didn't pick up; and that hurt more than anyone would ever know.


	4. Chapter 4

**Hey Guys!**

**Alright so I know a lot of you are feeling like Alex is acting like a brat…and I get that, but I think we need to remember that she is fourteen, and while she is normally very mature, she is allowed to act like a fourteen year old every now and then! So I hope you guys get that…because I don't want you to think I'm writing this terrible teen!**

**So that being said I hope you enjoy this chapter! Remember give Alex some time! :) Happy reading! -J**

**Chapter 4**

"Hey Lex it's Emily, I just thought I'd try to catch you before school. Listen kid I know you're upset okay, but could you please call me later or send a text? Anything so that I know you're still alive. I really am sorry sweetheart…more than you know. I love you…bye."

Emily hung-up her phone, disappointed that she had been forced to talk to Alex's voicemail, rather than the teen herself, but hoping that the young brunette would at least listen to the message.

"She didn't answer?" JJ asked as she came out of the bathroom, seeing the brunette sitting on the bed, staring at her phone sadly.

"No, but I left a message this time," Emily replied, doing her best to hide the hurt that she knew JJ could see on her face.

"I'm sorry baby," JJ said sitting down next to the brunette and kissing her on the cheek. "She'll come around."

"I know," Emily sighed. "I'd just like to hear from her at least."

"Well why don't you give her the day and if you still don't hear from her call Veronica," JJ suggested. "That way you at least know how she's doing."

"Yeah that's a good idea," Emily agreed. "Thanks," she said before pulling the blonde into a kiss.

Emily allowed herself to get lost in the kiss for a minute, threading a hand into the blonde's locks, pulling her as close as possible. Swiping her tongue against JJ's bottom lip, the blonde immediately allowed Emily to deepen the kiss, moaning as she felt a hand slip beneath the hem of her shirt.

"Mmmm we really shouldn't start something we can't finish," JJ said when she finally pulled away; resting her forehead against the brunette's. "We need to be downstairs in ten minutes."

"That's plenty of time," Emily moaned, pulling JJ in for another kiss.

"Sorry baby," JJ denied, once again pulling away. "You're going to have to wait until later," she said. "Now go get yourself dressed. Unless you plan on wearing your PJs to the station."

"I'm sure Hotch would love that," Emily replied with a smirk.

"Morgan too," JJ laughed.

"I'm going to hold you to that later you know," Emily then said, giving the blonde a quick peck before moving towards her go-bag to get a change of clothes.

"Oh I'm counting on that," JJ grinned, winking when the brunette turned her way.

Emily quickly pulled on a pair of dress pants and a blouse before grabbing her blazer, turning around to find JJ still watching her closely.

"You ready?" Emily smirked.

"Ready," JJ said, standing from the bed so she could grab her own blazer to put over her purple blouse.

"Alright, let's go find this guy," Emily said, holding out her hand for the blonde to take. "I've got better places to be this week."

**CM-CM-CM-CM-CM-CM-CM-CM-CM-CM-CM-CM-CM-CM-CM-CM-CM**

When Alex heard her phone go off that morning she had hesitated before turning off her ringer, knowing that Spencer would pressure her to answer her phone if she knew Emily was calling. Alex wasn't proud of the fact that she was blatantly ignoring Emily but she needed some more time before she could speak to the older brunette. As much as she knew she was hurting Emily, she was just too upset and really couldn't stand being forced to talk about it anymore.

Alex listened to her voicemail; her heart sinking as Emily once again apologized for her absence, making Alex feel guilty. The teen held her phone, considering sending the older brunette a text to let her know she was fine, unsure of what to say as her fingers hovered over the buttons.

"Hey Lex my mom wanted me to tell you there's muffins for breakfast," Spencer said, coming into the room, as Alex immediately shoved her phone into the pocket of her backpack. "And Melissa had to leave early to work on a project so we have to take the bus, which means we need to get going."

"Yeah okay," Alex replied, grabbing her bag and heading for the door where Spencer was waiting. "I'll just take my muffin to go then."

After heading downstairs and grabbing muffins, Alex and Spencer quickly headed for the bus stop, getting there just as the bus pulled up next to the curb. The pair were relatively quiet on the way to school, both eating their muffins; chatting every now and then about their English homework. Alex appreciated the fact that Spencer wasn't asking her about how she was, but she knew she wouldn't be so lucky once she got to school and saw her other friends.

When Alex and Spencer arrived at school and made their way to their lockers, it was to find Olivia and Zoey already waiting for them, both looking slightly anxious as their friends approached.

"Hey," Zoey greeted. "How are you doing Lex?"

"I'm fine," Alex insisted. "And honestly I really don't want to talk about it okay? I just want to keep myself focused on being ready for Thursday no matter who is or isn't going to be there."

"No problem," Olivia replied as Zoey nodded in understanding. "Are you nervous for Thursday? I mean in the afternoon you're going to perform in front of the entire school. Like every grade," she pointed out. "I mean every kid at the school is going to know who you are. That's gotta make you nervous."

"Well it didn't until right now," Alex replied, looking at her friend with a perplexed expression on her face.

"Ignore her Lex," Spencer said. "You're totally ready for it and everyone is going to love you! Don't let Liv freak you out."

"I wasn't trying to freak her out!" Olivia argued. "I was just pointing out a fact."

"Yes one that really didn't need to be pointed out," Zoey said.

"Well sorry!" Olivia replied, rolling her eyes.

Alex couldn't help but laugh, knowing Olivia never really thought about what she said before she said it.

"It's fine Liv," Alex said with a laugh. "Come on, let's just get to class," she said, putting an arm around her blonde friend's shoulder before heading towards their English class, ready to start her day.

**CM-CM-CM-CM-CM-CM-CM-CM-CM-CM-CM-CM-CM-CM-CM-CM-CM-CM**

"Scott and Melissa were just married correct?" Emily asked as she sat in her second interview of the day, this one with Scott Perry; their second victim's mother.

"In September," Mrs. Perry replied. "They were high school sweethearts, but Melissa insisted that they have all their school loans paid off before they got married. She always said they had all the time in the world to get married," the older woman sniffed. "You're going to find the person who did this aren't you?"

"We're going to do everything we can," Emily replied. "But I need you to answer some questions first. I need to know everything I can about your son and his wife so that I can figure out where they met their killer."

"You…you think that they knew the person that killed them?" Mrs. Perry asked sounding surprised.

"Not necessarily knew, but I do think they probably met their killer sometime before that night," Emily explained. "The fact that the unsub knew how to get into their house, and knew when they would be up in their room indicates that he was likely following them for some time, which means that they must have met somewhere. This means there has to be some sort of link between your son and daughter-in-law and the other three couples that were killed," the profiler continued, pulling out three pictures of the other couples. "Do you recognize any of these people?"

"Only from the news," Mrs. Perry replied. "Although it's possibly that Scott and Mel could have known them," she said. "I didn't know everyone they hung out with. They liked to get out a lot; try new things, so they were always meeting new people."

"What kind of things did they do?" Emily asked.

"They took a dance class before the wedding," Mrs. Perry began. "They played volleyball, went to the gym, took a pottery class and I believe they were both planning on learning how to play the guitar," they woman said. "Does any of that help?" She asked as she watched Emily reading through the notes she took during her last interview.

"I'm not seeing any overlap, but that doesn't mean that there isn't any," Emily replied. "Can you tell me, did they ever attend any pre-marital classes?" She asked, knowing that the first couple that was killed had attended some classes at a nearby community center.

"No nothing like that," Mrs. Perry replied, much to Emily's disappointment. "They had been together so long that it was like they were practically married already. They didn't need anything like that."

"Okay," Emily replied, disappointed that the obvious connection wasn't there. "Do you think you could write me a list of all the places you know that Scott and Melissa frequented? I'm talking anywhere and everywhere that they might go on a weekly basis. Nothing is too small."

"Sure," Mrs. Perry agreed as Emily handed her a pad of paper and a pen.

"Thank you," Emily replied with a small smile. "I'm just going to step outside to talk to Agent Jareau, I'll be right back," she said before leaving the interview room in search of the media liaison.

"Hey Emily any luck?" Reid asked from where he was standing in front of their crime board, studying his map.

"Not so far," Emily replied. "I have Mrs. Perry writing out that list you asked for though. I'll get it to you right away."

"That's great," Reid replied. "Morgan is getting me the same list from Taylor George's brother. So far I'm not getting much overlap between the other two couples, besides a couple grocery stores that they both shopped at, but I doubt that's it."

"Yeah probably not," Emily agreed. "Have you seen JJ?"

"Last I saw her she was on the phone with some reporter," Reid replied. "Hotch wants her holding a press conference later today. I think she was using Detective Foster's office."

"Thanks Reid," Emily said before heading for the Detective's office, glancing in the window to see the blonde sitting behind the desk, talking on the phone. Emily stood in the doorway, listening as JJ asked the reporter on the other end to be in front of the police station at noon for a short press conference with the FBI. JJ was in her zone, completely unaware of the brunette's presence, as she continued to talk, all the while stroking a hand over her small baby bump.

"Hey beautiful," Emily said when the blonde finally hung up the phone a few minutes later.

"Hey yourself," JJ replied with a smile. "You all done with Mrs. Perry?"

"Almost," Emily said. "She's just writing out the list for Reid. I just wanted to come see how you were doing? Hotch has you holding a press conference huh?"

"Yeah, he wants people to be aware," JJ replied. "Plus him and Rossi think that it would be good if our unsub knows we're here. Spook him a bit."

"Could cause him to panic," Emily pointed out. "Make a mistake."

"Exactly," JJ replied. "Unfortunately that also means he'll kill again."

"Unfortunately," Emily agreed. "Well I'll let you get back to your phone calls, but can I get you anything? A snack? Water? Juice? We gotta keep that little peanut fed and watered missy."

JJ laughed shaking her head at the goofy grin across the brunette's face. "I'd actually love a bag of Cheetos. Do you think you could check the vending machine for me?"

"Anything for you," Emily replied with a wink before heading out of the office, planning on making a stop to check in with Mrs. Perry before hitting up the vending machine.

As upset as Emily was about the fact that she still hadn't heard from Alex, Emily knew she had to keep her mind focused on other things right now. That meant finding the man who killed these couples, and keeping her gorgeous girlfriend happy.

**CM-CM-CM-CM-CM-CM-CM-CM-CM-CM-CM-CM-CM-CM-CM-CM-CM**

"…And with that the BAU is asking that anyone who sees anything suspicious, or notices anyone out of place in their neighbourhood; anyone who may be watching you or someone you know, to please call our tip hotline. We also ask that everyone be vigilant in locking all their doors and setting alarms where possible. Thank you, that will be all," JJ said, turning away from the press gathered in front of the police station and following Hotch inside.

"Great job JJ," Hotch said, holding the door open for the blonde.

"Thanks boss," JJ replied with a smile. "Hopefully people will follow our advice."

"And hopefully our unsub was watching, because I'm beginning to think that drawing him out will be the only way to get another lead," Hotch stated grimly, not liking the idea that the unsub would likely kill again before they could catch him.

"Still no connections between the vics?" JJ asked.

"Nothing solid," Hotch replied. "Even Reid is running out of ideas. We've got Garcia running some more searches though. Something will click eventually," he said, not sounding all that convinced. "Morgan was ordering lunch, it should be here by now. Make sure you get something to eat, and then monitor the tip lines. I'm going to talk to Detective Foster."

"Yes Sir," JJ smiled, watching as Hotch headed towards the Detective's office before heading for the conference room that the team was using.

"Hey Jayje, we got Thai," Morgan greeted as soon as the media liaison walked through the door. "We got your favourite," he said holding out a container towards the blonde.

The smell hit JJ as soon as she came fully into the room, her stomach immediately turning as her hand flew up to cover her mouth. The blonde's face visibly paled and she quickly bolted from the room, heading towards the nearest bathroom as quick as she could.

"Ummm…oops?" Morgan said, looking towards Emily who was already abandoning her lunch and heading after JJ.

"I've got her," the brunette called, rushing towards the bathroom.

Emily found JJ kneeling in front of a toilet, the stall door left wide open as she emptied the contents of her stomach. "Jen you okay?" Emily asked as she pulled back the blonde's hair, rubbing small circles on her back. "I thought you were past the whole morning sickness thing," she said receiving a groan in reply.

"It was…the smell…it just…oh God," JJ muttered before once again throwing up.

"Okay, it's okay," Emily soothed, continuing to rub her girlfriend's back. "You're alright."

It was a few more minutes before JJ finally flushed the toilet, leaning back against Emily's legs. "You okay?" Emily asked softly.

"Yeah I think so," JJ replied quietly, not sounding all too convincing.

"Maybe you should go back to the hotel for a bit," Emily then suggested, not liking the way the blonde looked. "Get a bit of rest."

"No, no I'm fine," JJ insisted.

"Jen, I love you, but you don't look fine," Emily said. "Baby you look awful. No one would blame you if you went and got a few hours rest."

"I can't," JJ said, shaking her head, her face still incredibly pale. "I have to monitor the tip lines, and we need everyone in this," she said.

"Jen I can do the tip lines for you," Emily said. "You're not going to be any use to us if you wear yourself out. Honey you're really pale, I'm just worried okay?" She said. "I need you to take care of yourself and that baby remember? Just go get a couple hours rest. Hotch will understand."

"Yeah…okay," the blonde finally relented with a sigh. "Just a couple hours though."

"Okay," Emily smiled, kissing JJ's forehead. "Can you drive yourself?"

"Yeah I'll be fine," JJ replied, before standing up and being hit with a wave of dizziness, grabbing on to her girlfriend's arm.

"Okay forget that," Emily said sounding worried. "Morgan and Rossi are heading out to talk to a few friends of the victims, I'll have them drive you," she said. "I'll explain it to Hotch."

"Yeah okay," JJ quickly replied, giving in to the fact that she needed to take a step back.

Emily led JJ out of the bathroom, sitting her in a chair before going to explain what was happening to Hotch, Rossi and Morgan. With assurances from Morgan that he would get JJ back to their room and into bed, Emily bid the blonde fair well before making her way towards a desk where she could man the phones with a few of the local cops.

Seeing that the phones were well covered for the time being, Emily took out her personal phone, deciding to leave Alex a message before getting back to work.

"Hey hun, sorry to call, I know you're in class but I just wanted to call and ask you a favour," the brunette said when the teen's voicemail picked up. "I know you're angry with me, and you obviously don't want to talk, but I need you to answer JJ if she calls you today okay? She's had a rough day, and I'm willing to bet she's going to try you later, so please…put your anger aside for just a little bit and talk to her okay? I love you sweetheart. Bye."

**CM-CM-CM-CM-CM-CM-CM-CM-CM-CM-CM-CM-CM-CM-CM-CM-CM-CM**

Alex listened to Emily's message between classes, hearing the sadness in the brunette's tone, and immediately feeling guilty. Deciding to be a little less stubborn, the teen sent Emily a quick text, assuring her that she would take JJ's call if she wasn't in rehearsal, and telling the older brunette to be safe; something which would make the profiler feel much better.

So when her phone went off as she made her way into the auditorium at the end of the school day, Alex didn't hesitate to answer, following through with Emily's wishes.

"Hey JJ," Alex greeted, feeling slightly awkward since she had been ignoring Emily since they left.

"Lex…hey," JJ greeted sounding surprised, having not expected the teen to answer. "How are you sweetie?"

"I'm okay," Alex replied. "How are you doing? Is everything okay? Emily said you had a rough day."

"You talked to Emily?" JJ asked, sounding hopeful.

"She left me a voicemail," Alex replied. "She thought you might call me."

"Oh she thinks she's so smart," JJ joked. "Did you call her back at all?"

"I sent her a text," Alex said, knowing that the blonde probably hated the fact that she had yet to talk to Emily. "So are you okay? What's going on?"

"I got pretty sick at the station today," JJ replied. "Morgan got Thai food and as soon as I smelt it, it hit me. I was feeling pretty rough after that, but I had a nap and I'm feeling better now. I've got soup coming from room service in a few minutes and then I should be ready to head back to work," she explained. "Just thought I would check in on you first. I'm glad you answered."

"Yeah well…I was worried when Emily said you had a rough day," Alex replied. "You're really feeling better?" She asked, sounding worried.

"Much better," JJ assured her. "Although I feel like this baby is acting like a personal heater. I am boiling hot! I had to turn on the A/C in the room to get comfortable."

"That should be interesting for Emily tonight," Alex laughed. "Nothing like air conditioning in December."

"She may need to get her a snow suit to sleep in," JJ joked, also laughing. "I miss you kid," she then said, suddenly serious.

"I…I miss you too," Alex replied sadly. "I…is Emily mad at me?"

"What? Of course not!" JJ exclaimed. "Why would you think that?"

"Because I've been avoiding her calls."

"Oh honey, she gets that you're upset," JJ assured her. "I'm not going to lie she's upset that she hasn't been able to talk to you, but she's not mad. She loves you so much babe. This is hurting her just as much as it's hurting you."

"I love her…I'm just really disappointed about this whole thing," Alex said. "I'm just trying really hard to keep my mind on the play and doing my best with that."

"I get it kid. Trust me, I really do," JJ replied, smiling at the fact that the teen was doing exactly what Emily herself was doing in busying herself in her work. "But maybe you could at least text her? Make her feel a little better about everything?"

"Yeah…I can do that," Alex agreed quietly. "Look rehearsal starts in a few minutes. I need to get going. You going to be okay?"

"Yeah of course," JJ smiled. "Good luck sweetie. I love you."

"Love you too JJ," Alex replied. "Be safe."

**CM-CM-CM-CM-CM-CM-CM-CM-CM-CM**

**So I Hope that no one freaks out about Alex answering JJ and not Emily. For me the only reason she answered is because Emily asked her to so I hope that, that comes across. Just wanted to clear that up! Thanks for reading!**


	5. Chapter 5

**Alright well I think this chapter is a little shorter than the others but I just wanted to get the case moving, and give you a little bit with Alex! I have to admit I don't think I'm the greatest at writing cases, so you'll probably notice that they can be a little rushed, or I try to avoid going into too much detail but I hope that you enjoy it still!**

**Thank you for reading! You guys are the best! -J**

**Chapter 5**

Tuesday after rehearsal Alex made her way over to her house to feed Sergio, feeling rather glum. The closer it got to Thursday, the more worried the teen seemed to get about Emily and JJ not making it back. In the beginning she had some hope that they would manage to get home in time, but the more time that passed the more hope she seemed to lose.

Emily had called her the night before, and they had talked for a short time; Alex feeling slightly uncomfortable, but trying to make an effort so that Emily might feel a little less guilty. She knew it wasn't Emily's fault, and admittedly she really wasn't angry with the older brunette, but she was still so disappointed that she couldn't help but not want to talk to her.

"Hey Serg, you hungry buddy?" Alex called as she walked into the big empty house; the black kitten immediately coming to greet her. "Oh I miss you," she said, picking Sergio up and snuggling him close to her chest. "Must be lonely over here all alone. Are you getting a lot of exploring done?" She continued chatting to Sergio as she headed towards the kitchen where his food dish sat. "Sorry that I'm not here to snuggle with at night but I'm not allowed to stay here alone. I wish I could take you to Spencer's with me but I don't think her parents would go for that."

Putting Sergio down, Alex went into the pantry to pull out the cat food, filling the dish as Sergio rubbed against her legs, obviously loving the attention. After filling the bowl, and going to get the kitten some fresh water, Alex sat down, scratching Sergio's head while the black ball of fur dug into his dinner.

"Do you miss Emily and JJ Serg?" The teen asked. "I know I do. It sounds like they're still having a pretty hard time with their case, so I don't really know when they're going to get home," she said sadly. "I really want them to be here, but I'm trying to accept that, that just might not happen. At least JJ's family will be here though. And Ambassador Prentiss, so some of my family will get to see me perform."

Alex then sat silently watching Sergio eat, her mind lost in thoughts about Thursday night. It wasn't until Sergio crawled into her lap that she was pulled from her daydreaming, scratching the cat's head before lifting him up and heading for the stairs. Normally when Alex was feeling like this she would curl up in her dad's old sweatshirt, taking comfort in the familiar feeling of warmth; but as she made her way upstairs, she realized that she needed something else tonight.

Bypassing her own bedroom, Alex headed towards the end of the hall, opening the door to the master suite and making her way towards Emily and JJ's closet. Hit with the familiar smell of the two women who had become so important to her, Alex sat down, leaning against the wall and cuddling Sergio close. She sat in silence, petting the kitten who was falling asleep against her chest as she allowed herself some time to miss Emily and JJ; sadness washing over her.

She wasn't sure how long she had been sitting there when the ringing of her cell phone filled the closet, startling her and causing Sergio to jump from her arms in fright.

"Hello?" Alex said answering the phone without checking the caller I.D.

"Lex? Where are you?" Spencer's voice replied, sounding worried.

"What do you mean? I'm at my house," Alex explained. "I told you I was coming to feed Sergio."

"Alex that was like an hour ago," Spencer said. "My mom is starting to worry. She's watching your house from the window like a hawk. She thinks you're going to run away or something."

"Oh geez," Alex sighed, standing from her spot on the floor. "I'm sorry I didn't realize that I'd been gone so long. I just lost track of time."

"Well you better get back here."

"I'll be there in a few," Alex replied before hanging up and heading for the door.

She was halfway out the bedroom before she was struck with a thought, turning around and re-entering the large walk in closet. Going through the hangers Alex eventually found Emily's old Yale sweater; taking it down before going back into the bedroom where she went to the dresser, opening up drawers in search of one of JJ's soccer shirts that the blonde often wore around the house. Finding the shirts, Alex pulled one out, pulling off her own sweater and t-shirt and replacing it with JJ's t-shirt and Emily's sweater, both of which were slightly large on her small frame. Satisfied, Alex rushed down the stairs, saying a quick goodbye to Sergio before making her way outside and across the street.

**CM-CM-CM-CM-CM-CM-CM-CM-CM-CM-CM-CM-CM-CM-CM-CM-CM-CM**

As each hour passed on Tuesday, Emily got more and more irritable; a fact, which did not go unnoticed by the rest of the team. In the morning the brunette profiler had seemed hopeful, almost eager to get to work; feeling less burdened by guilt since she had been able to speak to Alex the night before. The team had gotten to work, combing through tips that had come in over night, interviewing more friends of the victms and even visiting various locations that the victims had been to, and yet they still had very little to go on. They were hitting a wall and they all knew it; running out of parameters for Garcia to search and people to interview. JJ tried to keep Emily positive, asking for her help under Hotch's orders in hopes that her girlfriend wouldn't become discouraged.

As the day wore on though it became clear that Emily was aware of the time and their lack of progress. In typical Prentiss fashion, the brunette began to withdraw, falling silent as the team sat around the conference room table, all looking through various files for what felt like the millionth time.

"I'm out of ideas here," Morgan finally said, closing the file he was reading in frustration. "We have four couples and yet we still don't have enough. We have to be missing something here."

"We've gone over every place these couples have ever visited and there is no overlap between all four," Rossi said.

"Maybe the Unsub is choosing these couples randomly," Reid suggested. "Maybe we were wrong about the stalking."

"But then how did he know where and when he would be able to get into the house?" Hotch asked. "And what about the fact that all these couples were getting married or had just been married? That's not a coincidence."

"Garcia has run through every inch of these people's lives," JJ chimed in. "Nothing is clicking. We have nothing solid to connect all four of these victims outside of the fact that they lived relatively close together and they all had similar marital statuses."

"Prentiss what's your take on things?" Hotch asked, turning towards the brunette who had remained silent; her head still down as she pretended to read the file in front of her. "Prentiss?" Hotch tried again, still receiving no reply.

"Em," JJ said softly, putting a hand on the profiler's back and nodding towards Hotch when Emily looked at her questioningly.

"Sorry, what?" Emily asked, looking towards Hotch, trying to keep the confusion off her face.

"I asked what your take on all of this was," Hotch replied. "Do you think it's possible that these victims are random, or do you think we're just missing something?"

"I think we're missing the connection," Emily replied, looking defeated. "I think that we need more in order to find this guy, and we're not going to get that unless he strikes again," she said, voicing the thing the entire team had been avoiding admitting all day. "And I think that really sucks," she stated before getting up and leaving the room.

**CM-CM-CM-CM-CM-CM-CM-CM-CM-CM-CM-CM-CM-CM-CM-CM-CM-CM**

JJ didn't even wait to be dismissed before standing from her seat at the table and following Emily out of the conference room. She watched as Emily rushed towards the bathroom, obviously trying to get away from any prying eyes as she attempted to calm herself down and control her emotions. JJ waited barely a beat before entering the bathroom, finding only the last stall occupied: Emily obviously hiding inside.

"Em," JJ called, standing outside the stall. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine," Emily replied, not sounding the least bit convincing.

"Em I know this case is frustrating but we need to keep our heads," JJ said. "We're going to get the break we need, you just need to wait for it."

"Wait for him to kill someone else you mean," Emily interjected from behind the stall door.

"This isn't the first time we've had to do this," JJ reminded her. "That's really not what's bothering you is it?"

"What kind of person am I that I'm hoping the unsub kills again just so we can solve this?" Emily asked, throwing open the stall door and facing the blonde, shame written on her face. "All I can think about is getting home Jen."

"Em come on," JJ said. "Don't you realize that's all any of us are thinking about? We all want to catch this guy and we all want to get home, and that means we have to accept the fact that if we want to learn more we need this guy to strike again. It's an unfortunate reality of this job and I know you know that," the blonde continued, taking Emily's hand in hers. "I know you're having a hard time with this because you can't stop thinking about Alex, but I also know you Em; you want to catch this guy to get him off the streets and to give these families peace of mind. So stop feeling guilty for wanting to be there for your daughter. Your heart is in the right place, you're just not seeing that right now."

"Thanks Jen, you always know what to say," Emily said, pulling JJ in o a hug since they were in the bathroom and no one else was around. "Ugh I can't believe I basically just threw a tantrum in front of the team," she then groaned, tucking her face into the blonde's neck. "Derek is never going to let me live that down."

"Well at least it was a mild one," JJ laughed. "And on the bright side I don't think Morgan will throw that back in your face until after the case is over."

"Well at least there's that," Emily laughed, placing a light kiss against JJ's neck, and relishing in having the blonde in her arms.

"We are going to solve this case Em," JJ said softly. "I don't know when, but I do believe in this team. Just have faith in them."

"I do," Emily replied. "I really do Jen. My head is just all over the place right now. But I know that the team is going to do everything they can."

"Good," JJ said, giving Emily a peck on the lips before the sound of the door opening caused the pair to pull apart, not wanting to look unprofessional.

"Prentiss, JJ," Morgan's voice called from the door. "Another couple has just been found. Hotch wants all of us on scene. Media's gonna be all over this," he finished before once again closing the door.

"Ready for your close-up Agent Jareau?" Emily asked with a smirk as the pair headed for the door.

"Always," JJ smiled. "Let's go Agent Prentiss. It's time to find this guy."

**CM-CM-CM-CM-CM-CM-CM-CM-CM-CM-CM-CM-CM-CM-CM-CM-CM-CM**

Eddie Malcolm and his fiancé Amanda Forman, had been found by their neighbour, who had noticed the pair's front door was wide open as he took his dog for a nighttime stroll. The neighbour walked in to find the young couple lying in pools of their own blood on their living room floor, a sight, which had sent him running out of the house to call the police.

"M.E. thinks they've been dead a few hours," Hotch said as the team, minus JJ, gathered in the living room.

"So he's broken from his usual schedule," Morgan pointed out. "And these kills are much sloppier than the last. The female has been stabbed multiple times," he said, lifting up the sheet that was covering Amanda Forman's body.

"Which means he's angry," Reid stated.

"Because he likely saw JJ on the news yesterday," Emily added.

"If he was rushing that means he was probably sloppy," Rossi said. "We might actually get something from the scene for a change."

"The techs are all over it," Hotch said. "They're checking all the door handles and surfaces for prints. Why don't we all spread out and see if we can get anything about who Eddie and Amanda were," he said before each member fanned out, Morgan and Rossi heading upstairs, while Hotch, Reid and Emily spread out on the main level.

There was a desk sitting in the family room, and Emily made her way over, putting on a pair of gloves before going through the papers sitting on top of the desk in search of anything she can find out about the young couple whose house they were taking over. As she began sifting through papers, the brunette did her best to keep her eyes away from the two sheet-covered bodies on the ground, hating thinking about the brutal way the couple had been killed all because her team was in town. Emily was grateful that JJ was outside dealing with the reporters, knowing that the blonde's stomach tended to be rather sensitive lately when encountering crime scenes; a fact, which the blonde hated to admit. Looking out the front window, the profiler took a moment to check on the blonde, who looked in her element as she stood in front of the group of reporters, bringing a smile to Emily's face.

"Hey Emily have you found anything?" Reid asked as he came back into the room from the kitchen, a stack of papers in his hand.

"Not much," Emily replied, tearing her eyes away from the front window. "Although it looks like one of them was a writer of some sort," she said, holding up a pile of papers.

"Well Eddie was a mechanic so I'd assume that Amanda was the writer," Reid explained.

"Ah right," Emily nodded as she noticed the papers that Reid was holding. "What ya got there? Did you find something?"

"It's just some bills and a registry of some sort," Reid replied with a shrug.

"A registry?"

"Yeah for their wedding I'm assuming," Reid explained. "It's just a bunch of household things, blenders and toasters and what not, which is a little weird since they already seem to have both those things and…"

"Oh my God Reid that's it," Emily exclaimed, snatching the registry from the genius' hand.

"What? What's it?" Reid asked, looking at the brunette's excited expression in confusion.

"Reid all of these couples were engaged or recently married, which means they all probably had one of these registries too," Emily explained. "This could be the connection we've been missing this whole time! We need to get Garcia on the phone. We need to find out where all the couples were registered for their weddings," she said, already pulling out her phone. "This could be it Reid. This could be how this guy is finding his couples."


	6. Chapter 6

**Alright, well we're getting pretty close to the big night here, but I wanted to focus on the case some more before we get there! I would guess that there will be another chapter before we find out if everyone is going to make it home in time! Hope you guys will stick with me until then! **

**As always thanks for reading! -J**

**Chapter 6**

Finding something solid that could very well link all five of their couples gave the BAU a new sense of hope of solving the case. Emily was exhilarated as she called Garcia and had her find out if the other four couples had registered at any stores for their weddings and where. The technical analyst; who was disappointed by the lack of challenge to this new task, was quickly able to find what the team needed, discovering that all five couples had registered with the same big name store for their weddings, and most likely at the same location since it was nearest to their homes. The entire team was suddenly energized, wanting to hit the ground running, but unable to since it was too late to get in touch with the store.

"We'll get to the store first thing in the morning," Hotch said to the team as they gathered in front of Eddie and Amanda's house. "Garcia is running a search for all employees of the company, but she said she'll need to leave it overnight. We'll probably learn more when we actually visit the store tomorrow."

"Isn't there anything we can do tonight?" Morgan asked, feeling too wired to give up for the night. "Patrol the streets or something?"

"We have no reason to believe the unsub will strike again tonight," Hotch replied. "He wouldn't have had enough time to find and watch another couple already. We're better off going back to the hotel and getting a good night's rest. Tomorrow will likely be a long one."

"Hotch is right," Rossi agreed. "We can start first thing in the morning, and if all goes well we'll have this guy by the end of the day."

"We've got two cars, lets head back now," Hotch said. "Reid are you coming with me and Rossi?"

"Sure," Reid replied, following the two older Agents towards one of the waiting SUVs.

"Looks like you ladies are with me," Morgan said with a grin. "I'll drive."

"There's a shock," Emily replied sarcastically, following Morgan towards the other SUV, opening up the front door for JJ, deciding to take the back seat. "I really wish there was something more we could be doing tonight. I'm not ready to call it a night yet."

"You heard Hotch and Rossi Em," JJ said. "And they're both right. We're better off getting a good night's sleep tonight and starting first thing tomorrow."

"I know," Emily sighed. "I just don't know how I'm supposed to fall asleep knowing we're one step closer to finding this guy."

"I know but we're gonna get him tomorrow," JJ assured her. "I have a really good feeling about it."

"Blondie's right," Morgan agreed. "We just need to trust that Garcia will get us what we need and we can get on top of this guy tomorrow. We got this. And we're gonna get you back to your little Princess on time."

"I sure hope so," Emily smiled, feeling for this first time like the team just might be able to get the case solved in time for her to make it home by Thursday.

"Have you talked to her today?" JJ asked, turning around to face the brunette in the back of the car.

"I text her and let her know I wouldn't be able to call," Emily replied. "She said that was fine because she had a ton of work to catch up on after rehearsal and then planned on going straight to bed. I'll call her in the morning though before she leaves for school."

"So she's talking to you?" Morgan asked, having not heard much about the teen the last couple days. "That's good."

"Yeah," Emily agreed. "She's a little distant but she stopped ignoring my texts and my calls so I can't really complain."

Morgan nodded in agreement, keeping his attention on the road as JJ sent Emily a wink before turning back in her seat. The trio spent the rest of the drive talking about random things, before spending some time talking about JJ's pregnancy. When they arrived back at the hotel, Hotch, Rossi and Reid had yet to arrive (due to Morgan's speeding), so they all headed to their floor; the two females saying their goodnights to Morgan before making their way into their room.

"Is it bad that I'm already getting my hopes up about solving this thing tomorrow?" Emily asked as they entered the room, immediately going over to the bed and flopping down on her back. "I don't think I've ever been so excited about solving a case before."

"Well you've got a lot invested in finishing this one," JJ pointed out, smiling at the sight of the brunette sprawled out on the bed. "You going to be able to sleep at all tonight?" She then asked, moving closer and running a hand up Emily's leg.

"I doubt it," Emily replied shaking her head. "I'm too wired."

"I thought you'd say that," JJ said, now moving to crawl over the brunette, hovering over her. "You know I have an idea about how we can work some of that energy off."

"Oh yeah," Emily replied, her voice sounding suddenly husky. "And what would that be?" She asked, reaching up to tuck the blonde's hair behind her ear.

"I'm sure you'll figure it out," JJ replied seductively before leaning down and meeting the brunette's lips in a searing kiss.

**CM-CM-CM-CM-CM-CM-CM-CM-CM-CM-CM-CM-CM-CM-CM-CM-CM-CM**

Alex's phone went off as she was straightening her hair early Wednesday morning; her caller I.D reading that it was Emily calling. Keeping her fingers crossed that the older brunette had good news; Alex answered the phone after the third ring.

"Hey Emily," Alex greeted, sitting down on Spencer's bed.

"Hey kid," Emily replied, sounding much more chipper than she had when they talked Monday night. "How's it going?"

"Not too bad, I'm just getting ready for school." Alex explained. "How come you couldn't call last night? Did you guys find something?"

"Another couple was found," Emily replied, not wanting to get into too much detail. "We were at the scene for a while, and we also got what we're hoping is a pretty big break. We're heading back to the station early in hopes that Garcia's searches got us what we need."

"Oh…" Alex said, pausing as she thought about this new revelation; not allowing her hopes to get up just yet. "Well that's good then. Right?"

"It's really good," Emily said enthusiastically. "I mean if we're right about what we found then we could have this guy's name today, which means we could get him," she explained. "So you know I could be home…"

"Emily," Alex said, cutting her mother off. "Please just…please don't say it. I know that you guys are trying, and I really, really want it to be true, but I can't get my hopes up any higher than they already are," she explained. "I just don't want you to say anything that you can't promise…just in case. Okay?"

"Okay," Emily replied, completely understanding the teen's hesitation. "Do you have a lot going on today?" She asked in order to change the subject.

"I'm excused from classes today for dress rehearsal," Alex answered. "But I got all my homework done and I'm going to hand it in before the first bell. I really didn't want to fall behind right before Christmas break."

"That's great," Emily smiled. "You've been working so hard."

"And hopefully tomorrow it'll all pay off."

"It will," Emily replied. "I'm certain of that."

"Thanks," Alex replied with a smile, before checking the time on Spencer's nightstand. "I better get going though, I'm still not dressed. Good luck today."

"Thanks baby, you too," Emily said. "I will call you when I can. I love you."

"I love you too," Alex replied. "Bye," she said before hanging up.

Placing her phone in her backpack, Alex went back to Spencer's mirror, wanting to fix a few more pieces of hair before getting dressed. As the teen once again pulled the straightening iron through her hair, she couldn't help but let her thoughts wander to Emily and JJ and the possibility that they just might make it home after all.

**CM-CM-CM-CM-CM-CM-CM-CM-CM-CM-CM-CM-CM-CM-CM-CM-CM-CM-CM**

Motivated by their breakthrough from the night before the team arrived at the police station bright and early, all eager and prepared to get their guy. With cups of coffee in hand (hot chocolate for JJ), they gathered in the conference room, ready for their instructions for the day, wanting to know the game plan.

"Morgan let's get Garcia on the line, we need to see what she found," Hotch said as they all sat down around the table, watching as Morgan immediately pulled out his phone and hit Garcia's speed dial.

"Office of Supreme Genius," Garcia's bubbly greeting came through the phone.

"Hey Baby Girl I've got you on speaker with the whole team here," Morgan said. "What did your searches turn up?"

"Well my favourite crime fighters my babies worked all night going through all employees who work for the company, or who worked there in the last year who live in the Atlanta area," Garcia explained. "I had about 8 guys who set off some alarms since they had records."

"Anything that leads you to believe any of them could be our guy?" Rossi asked.

"Well none of them were convicted of murdering young couples if that's what you're asking," Garcia replied. "It's mostly petty crimes, all when the men were younger, so I decided to do a little more digging since I got here early," she explained. "Now I remember JJ said that you guys were tossing around the idea that this guy may look similar to the men that he's killing and he was probably engaged to someone who might look like these girls. So using those parameters I narrowed it down to two men who fit the mold."

"And are either of them with women who also fit this mold?" Emily asked, anxious to get out to find whoever their guy was.

"Oddly enough both of them do, or they were," Garcia explained. "I looked up both men on social media and they both have pictures with pretty blonde girls, but both pages haven't been updated in a while, so honestly it's unclear whether or not they're still with said women," she said. "I sent both their names to your phones."

"And are these men still employed at our store here in the city?" Morgan asked.

"Yes, both of them are," Garcia replied.

"Alright, Garcia I want you to send us everything you have on both men," Hotch ordered. "We need to go through and see what we can learn. Morgan, Prentiss, you two head to the store and find out what you can there, and then call us when you know anything solid."

"Yes sir," Emily nodded.

"I'll have that information sent to you as fast as I can," Garcia said. "Garcie out," she said before hanging up.

"Let's get on top of this," Hotch said, opening up his laptop, knowing Garcia would have the files sent to him by the time the machine loaded up.

"We'll be in touch,"Morgan said before gesturing to Emily that they should go, Emily sending a wink towards JJ before following Morgan out the door.

**CM-CM-CM-CM-CM-CM-CM-CM-CM-CM-CM-CM-CM-CM-CM-CM-CM-CM**

"Hi, how can I help you?" A man in his late forties greeted Emily and Morgan as they made their way into the large department store and approached the front desk.

"Are you the manager here?" Emily asked.

"Yes ma'am, what can I do for you?" He replied.

"We have a few questions about a couple of your employees," Morgan explained, pulling out his badge; the manager's eyes widening in surprise. "Is there somewhere we can go to talk privately Mr…"

"You can call me Bill," the manager replied. "And we can go to my office," he said before turning to one of his cashiers and explaining that he would be back soon. "Right this way."

Emily and Morgan followed as Bill led the way through the store and to the back towards his office. Opening the office door, Bill allowed the two Agents to enter before him, both taking seats in front of the manager's desk while they waited for the older man to sit down.

"I'm really trying to wrack my brain about who you would come here asking about, and I really have no idea," Bill said as he took his seat. "So what can I help you with?"

"Do you have a Craig Nelson and a Joel McPherson working here for you?" Emily asked pulling up the pictures of the two men on her phone.

"Um yes, they both work here," Bill replied. "Craig works in our back warehouse and Joel works out on the sales floor. Neither one of them are here right now though. Would you like me to call them in?"

"No that won't be necessary quite yet," Morgan said in response. "What can you tell us about Craig and Joel though? Have they been employed here long?"

"Uh yes," Bill replied. "Craig has been here about 3 years, and I believe Joel has been here almost 2."

"Are they married?" Emily asked.

"Craig was married last year," Bill explained. "And Joel was engaged, but his fiancé broke it off," he said as Emily and Morgan looked at each other, with hope in both their eyes.

"Do you know what happened between them?" Morgan questioned.

"I don't really know all the details, but I do know that she left him," Bill replied. "Guy took it really hard too. Was really beating himself up about it," he explained. "I ended up giving him some time off. He's doing a lot better now though."

"How long ago was this?" Emily asked, already liking the sound of this guy as their unsub.

"Ummmm….just under two months ago?" Bill said, looking at his calendar, as both Agents once again looked at each other, knowing that the killings had started almost two months ago. "What exactly is this about?"

"Does Joel have access to your wedding registries?" Emily asked, ignoring the older man's question.

"He does," Bill nodded. "He's good with computers so he usually registers our couples. Meets with them and helps them with their choices and what not. He's great at it," he explained, watching as Emily and Morgan exchanged a knowing glance with each other. "Listen I really need to know what's going on here."

"Have you heard about the recent murders in the area?" Morgan asked. "Young couples being stabbed to death in their homes?"

"Yes…why?"

"All five couples who were killed recently registered for their weddings with your store," Emily said. "Some of them were recently married and the rest were engaged to be married very soon," she said, pulling photos of their couples out of her file. "And I believe you'll find that they all look just a little like Mr. McPherson and his ex-fiancé."

Emily and Morgan watched as Bill took in the photos, surprise written on his face as he covered his mouth in shock. "You…you think that Joel did this?"

"You said he's been doing a lot better right?" Emily said raising an eyebrow, as Bill's face paled. "Is Mr. McPherson coming in today?"

"Not…not until tonight," Bill replied.

"Alright," Morgan nodded, turning towards Emily. "I'll call Hotch."

**CM-CM-CM-CM-CM-CM-CM-CM-CM-CM-CM-CM-CM-CM-CM-CM-CM-CM**

"So we're sure this is our guy?" Rossi asked as he and Hotch approached Emily and Morgan waiting down the road from Joel McPherson's house.

After calling Hotch and telling them they were pretty positive that Joel was their unsub, Garcia was able to get the young man's address, sending the location to the team's phones. Hotch instructed the pair to wait for him and Rossi before approaching, while Reid and JJ stayed at the station to wait for further instructions.

"It's gotta be," Morgan replied.

"His fiancé left him and apparently he blamed himself for the whole matter, which could be why he's so brutal with the men," Emily explained. "To him the men represent himself. He's killing himself over and over."

"Time frame fits too," Morgan said. "He took some time off work about 2 months ago and when he came back he was doing much better with the whole breakup."

"Alright, any movement at the house?" Hotch asked, satisfied that McPherson was the man they were looking for.

"Not at all," Emily replied, crossing her fingers that they would get lucky and the man would be home.

"Okay, well we don't have cause to enter so Emily and I will knock and say we have a few questions," Hotch said. "I want you two to cover the back. If he's home he's probably going to get spooked and make a run for it. We need to be prepared."

Nodding, Rossi and Morgan immediately headed towards the back of McPherson's house, while Emily and Hotch remained where they were, allowing time for the other two Agents to get into place.

"What happens if he's not home?" Emily asked, while they waited for the okay to head to the door.

"You said he's supposed to work tonight right?" Hotch said. "We'll station people there, and we'll get an APB out on his car," he explained. "We're gonna get this guy Emily."

"I know," Emily smiled, just as Morgan's voice came through their earpieces saying that he and Rossi were in place.

"Alright let's do this," Hotch said as he and Emily made their way towards the front door. Making their way up the front steps, Emily stepped aside while Hotch approached the door, giving it a loud knock. Hotch waited a minute after getting no response before knocking once again. "Joel McPherson, this is the FBI. We have a few questions," he shouted.

"Any movement out back?" Emily asked into the earpiece, looking in the front window and not seeing anyone around.

"Nothing back here," Morgan replied.

"Joel McPherson, open up," Hotch tried again watching as Emily descended the porch stairs and made her way towards the garage.

Walking around the garage, Emily searched for a window, wiping away dirt with her jacket sleeve in order to see into the building; her shoulders immediately slumping in disappointment.

"Hotch," Emily called coming back around to the front of the house. "The garage is empty. He's not here."


	7. Chapter 7

**HELLO!**

**Worked hard tonight to be able to give you guys a quick update! Hope you enjoy it! The big night is coming up next! Do you guys think the team will make it back in time?**

**Thanks so much for sticking with me! You guys truly are the greatest! -J**

**Chapter 7**

"So what's Hotch's plan now?" Reid asked JJ, as the two sat in one of the police station's conference rooms; JJ having just hung up with the unit chief.

"Garcia got the into for McPherson's car so they're putting out an APB, and Rossi and Morgan are going back to the store to wait for him to show up there," JJ explained. "He's supposed to be in at 3pm."

"So basically we have to wait," Reid said.

"Pretty much," JJ sighed. "Although the store is sending Garcia their registry information so she can sort through it, so we can identify any more potential victims. Hotch and Emily are heading back here to help with that."

"Did you talk to Emily at all?" Reid then asked, concerned for the brunette whom he knew was probably freaking out again.

"No," JJ shook her head. "She won't let it show, but I'm sure she's losing it now. She was really counting on this ending easily."

"Never quite works out that way," Reid said, watching as JJ pinched the bridge of her nose, a sure sign that she was stressed. "How are you doing with all of this?"

"I just feel really bad for Em," JJ replied. "It's so hard for her. She hates letting Alex down like this. I just know it's tearing her up inside."

"Which is understandable," Reid said. "But what about you?" He asked, receiving a confused look from the blonde in reply. "JJ I know how important Alex is to you. This must be hard for you too. I mean you were really looking forward to tomorrow as well."

"I know…" JJ said softly. "But I mean…she's…Emily's her mother," the blonde eventually shrugged.

"Biologically yes," Reid agreed. "But I think you know that Alex sees you as her mother too, and I know you love her like your own daughter JJ," the genius told her. "You're allowed to be upset about this too you know."

"I know," J sighed. "Honestly, I'm really bummed about this whole thing, but I'm just trying so hard to stay confident for Emily. I mean I know she's worrying enough…I don't want to add to that."

"You two are really great together," Reid smiled.

"Thanks Reid," JJ replied, also smiling. "I think so too," she laughed. "And thank you…for checking in on me too. It means a lot."

"Of course," Reid said. "I'm always here if you need to talk."

**CM-CM-CM-CM-CM-CM-CM-CM-CM-CM-CM-CM-CM-CM-CM-CM-CM**

When Hotch and Emily finally returned to the police station they immediately got to work, going through the store customers and identifying any couples that fit victimology. Once they had their list of potential victims, Hotch, Emily and JJ split them up; each making phone calls to warn the couples to be vigilant and to let the police know right away if they saw Joel McPherson in their neighbourhood. They weren't really sure when McPherson would strike again, but the team was determined to get ahead of the guy and stop him before he could hurt anyone else. In an attempt to also learn more about their killer, Hotch also tried to get a hold of McPherson's ex-fiance, Phoebe; leaving a message on the blonde's voicemail to get in contact with him as soon as possible.

"Has anyone heard from Morgan or Rossi?" Reid asked later that day after all the couples had been notified. "It's after 3."

"They haven't called," JJ replied. "You don't think something happened do you? I mean what if McPherson ran?"

"They had backup," Hotch said. "We sent a few officers a little while ago just in case there was a problem so they should be fine. But let's give them a call anyways. Find out what happened."

"I'll do it," Emily said, pulling out her phone and hitting the speed dial for Morgan.

Emily hit the speakerphone as the sound of the phone ringing filled the room, the four agents patiently waiting to hear from their colleagues.

"Morgan," the Profiler's voice greeted.

"Derek, hey. I have you on speaker," Emily replied. "What's going on over there? Did you get McPherson?"

"He's not here," Morgan answered, sounding frustrated.

"What?" Emily exclaimed. "What do you mean? Where is he?"

"Your guess is as good as mine," Morgan said. "Bill says McPherson is never late. Hotch what do you want us to do?"

"Stay there a while longer," Hotch ordered. "If he doesn't show up soon have the officers stay and you two head back here."

"Hotch if he hasn't shown up to work then he must know that we're on to him," Reid pointed out.

"I know," Hotch sighed, obviously disappointed.

"Could he have seen you guys this morning?" JJ asked.

"He must have," Emily replied. "I mean Morgan and I were waiting out there for a while. It's possible he could have saw us and didn't come home."

"Well where would he go from there?" Morgan questioned. "Has anyone gotten in touch with the Ex?"

"I couldn't get a hold of her," Hotch said. "JJ can you try again?" He asked, receiving a nod from the blonde who grabbed her phone and moved to the doorway so she could hear better.

"Hotch if he saw us then he knows he's caught," Morgan then said. "We need to figure out his end game."

"It's got to be the girl," Emily said just as JJ came over shaking her head.

"Still no answer," JJ said. "I left another message."

"Alright get Garcia on the phone, we need to find out where Phoebe is living now," Hotch told JJ just as one of the officers came into the room.

"Sorry to interrupt," the young man said. "But they found the car you're looking for."

"Alright Prentiss you're with me," Hotch immediately ordered. "Reid you and JJ find out where Phoebe is living and if you can, then go find her and bring her in," he said as he headed for the door. "Morgan we'll be in touch soon."

**CM-CM-CM-CM-CM-CM-CM-CM-CM-CM-CM-CM-CM-CM-CM-CM-CM-CM-CM**

Hotch drove to the location he was given for McPherson's car, using his sirens in order to get there quickly; now feeling like he was trying to beat the clock for his brunette colleague. When they reached the place where two officers were waiting for them he immediately felt his hope drain, seeing the officers standing beside the car, which was parked in the middle of nowhere.

"Well this looks promising," Emily said sarcastically, annoyed at the fact that they had reached another dead end after getting her hopes up that they had found their guy. Irritated, and not even wanting to even get out of the car, Emily reluctantly followed Hotch out, the two agents approaching the waiting officers.

"We called as soon as we found it," one officer spoke. "Looks like the guy ditched it."

"Is there anywhere around here that he could have gone?" Hotch asked, looking around and seeing a whole lot of nothing.

"Not really," the other officer answered. "If he left on foot he'd have a pretty good walk ahead of him."

"He could have called a cab," Emily pointed out.

"Alright, take a look in the car," Hotch said. "See if we can find anything to give us any clue where he could have gone," he continued just as his phone began to ring. Checking the I.D Hotch picked up the phone, hoping for good news as Emily got into McPherson's car on the passenger's side. "JJ what do you have?" Hotch answered.

"Nothing good," the blonde sighed. "The last known address Garcia can find for Phoebe is her home with McPherson, which is the same house you visited this morning."

"She can't find out where she went after the breakup?" Hotch asked, seeing Emily turn towards him in concern.

"She obviously hasn't changed her address yet," JJ said.

"Alright have Garcia find Phoebe's family JJ," Hotch said. "We need to figure out where she is. McPherson isn't here. He's left his car so he's probably with her. Tell Garcia we need this to be as quick as possible."

"Yes sir," JJ replied before hanging up the phone.

"They can't find her?" Emily asked as she stepped out of the car.

"Her last known address is McPherson's house," Hotch informed her. "Anything in the car?"

"Absolutely nothing," Emily said disappointedly. "Not even a GPS. This just couldn't be easy could it?" She said, running a hand through her hair.

"It hardly ever is."

**CM-CM-CM-CM-CM-CM-CM-CM-CM-CM-CM-CM-CM-CM-CM-CM-CM-CM**

It turned out that Phoebe's only family was an older sister who lived in the city as well. Garcia had been able to find this information quickly, but when JJ had attempted to call the woman; like her younger sister, she got no reply. JJ had tried calling the woman's home phone as well as her cell several times, but received no reply. Upon hearing this news Hotch had told Garcia to track down where the woman worked and call her there, because they needed to find Phoebe as soon as possible; now convinced that she was most likely being held by her ex-fiance somewhere in the city. Garcia had been able to track down the work number easily, but the team had hit yet another wall when they found out the reason Phoebe's sister wasn't answering the phone was because she was currently on a plane to London for work.

"Shouldn't we be out there doing something?" Morgan asked in frustration several hours later, as the whole team sat gathered together, once again going through everything they had.

"What can we do?" Hotch replied. "We can't knock on every door in the city looking for this girl. We don't even know for sure that McPherson has her. She has no car in her name. No property. We checked her work; we checked her sister's house. I'm not sure what else you expect us to do right now Morgan," he said irritated.

"What are the odds we even find this girl alive now?" Morgan then questioned.

"His boss said that McPherson was blaming himself for his breakup, which means he obviously still cares for Phoebe," Reid said. "I don't think he'd just find her and immediately kill her. He's actually more likely to kill himself."

"How much longer until we can get a hold of the sister?" Rossi asked.

"About an hour," Hotch replied, noticing Emily glancing at her watch out of the corner of his eye.

The brunette had remained relatively quiet when they returned to the police

station; diving back into the case files in an attempt to hide her disappointment. The team didn't need to be profilers though to see that their friend was quickly becoming more and more morose as each hour passed.

"You okay Princess?" Morgan asked, noticing the glum look on his partner's face.

"Hm? Oh yeah," Emily replied as her cell began to ring. Pulling the device out of her pocket and checking the screen. "It's Alex," she said, sharing a glance with JJ before getting up to answer in another room.

JJ got up and followed Emily into an empty interview room, wanting to be there to support the brunette, whom she knew was barely holding it together at the moment.

"Lex, hey," Emily greeted when she answered the call.

"Oh…hey Emily," Alex's disappointed reply came through.

"You okay?" Emily asked, slightly confused by the teen's disappointment considering she had been the one to call her.

"What? Yeah…I just…I was kind of hoping you wouldn't be able to answer," Alex explained. "You know because you were in the air or something," she said honestly.

"I'm sorry honey," Emily said, mentally kicking herself. "It just seems like every time we get a break in this case we hit a wall. We're honestly so close. There's still a really good chance we'll be home tomorrow." She said, not quite sure if she believed that herself.

"Right," Alex replied, the sound of her holding back tears evident in her voice.

Feeling guilty, and biting her lip in an attempt to hold back her own tears, Emily was tempted to simply walk out of the station right now and get a flight back home on her own.

"How did today go?" She asked instead, wanting to change the topic.

"Really well actually," Alex replied with a sniff. "Mrs. Greer said she couldn't be happier, and even Chelsea said I did a really good job."

"Wow that must have been hard for her to admit," Emily said.

"Yeah I don't think it was easy for her to spit out," Alex replied with a small laugh. "JJ's mom called me today. She said they'd be here by four tomorrow."

"Oh that's great," Emily said, grateful for her girlfriend's family.

"Yeah and then Adam called too," Alex explained. "Lily wanted to wish me luck in case they didn't get to see me before the play actually started because I don't know where I'll be."

"Aw well that was sweet," Emily said, turning to JJ, who was listening in curiously. "That kid adores you. I bet she's really excited to see you."

"She sounded like it," Alex laughed. "They all said they'd be front and center for the performance. So I'll be able to see them, which will be nice."

"That will be great," Emily agreed trying to sound enthusiastic.

"Yeah…I…I would rather you and JJ be there though," the teen admitted, her voice cracking, as she obviously started crying.

"I know sweetie," Emily said, wiping away the tear that rolled down her cheek as JJ came over and took her hand in support. "I'm so sorry Lex. I'm so sorry this happened. I want to be there so bad. I'm still trying to be there."

"I know," Alex sniffed. "Really I do. And I get it…I completely get it. I just…I just really miss you."

"I miss you too baby," Emily replied, grateful for JJ's hand now rubbing up and down her back comfortingly. "I miss you so much."

"Is JJ there?" The teen then asked quietly.

"Yeah she's here. Do you want to talk to her?"

"Yes please," Alex replied. "I love you."

"I love you too kiddo. So, so much," Emily said sadly. "And if I'm not there tomorrow…if I don't make it…break a leg okay?"

"Okay," Alex's voice cracked.

Emily handed JJ the phone before putting her head in her hands, JJ's hand still on her back as she greeted Alex. Now safely off the phone, Emily let a few more frustrated tears fall, hating how unfair this whole situation seemed to be.


	8. Chapter 8

**Alright my friends, this chapter is focused on Alex and the big day. I felt like I needed to do it this way, and I'm really hoping you guys will like it. Can't wait to hear what everyone thinks!**

**Thanks so much for reading! -J**

**Chapter 8**

Thursday morning Alex woke up early; too early. Looking towards Spencer's bedroom window she could see that it was still dark out, but as she willed herself to fall back asleep, she knew it was pointless. Her mind was already reeling and she knew there was no way she would be able to shut it off long enough to fall back asleep.

Not wanting to wake Spencer with her tossing and turning, the young brunette slowly and quietly crawled out of bed, grabbing a sweater on the way to the bathroom. Alex took a few minutes in the bathroom before deciding to head downstairs, careful not to make too much noise since she didn't want to wake anyone up. Creeping down the stairs to get to the kitchen though, she noticed a light on, indicating that someone was already up.

"Oh hi," Alex greeted when she got down the stairs to find Veronica Hastings leaning against the kitchen island, a cup of coffee in hand.

"Oh hi Alex," Veronica replied, looking up from the file she was reading. "You're up early," she said looking at the clock and seeing that it was only 6am.

"I couldn't really sleep," Alex explained with a yawn. "Are you always up this early?"

"Most days," Veronica nodded. "I like to go over my cases in the mornings to make sure I'm well informed. You can never be too prepared if you ask me. Plus I just really like this time of the morning," she explained. "It's quiet."

"That's for sure," Alex agreed as she took a seat on one of the stools at the island.

"So how are you feeling today?" Veronica then asked, knowing there must be a reason the teen was up so early. "Are you nervous?"

"A little," Alex admitted reluctantly. "I'm more excited than nervous, but the idea of performing in front of the whole school this afternoon does make me a little anxious."

"Well from what I've heard from Spencer you have nothing to worry about," Veronica assured her. "You're going to do great, and I can't wait to see it tonight. Did you talk to your mom?"

"Yeah, uh…" Alex began, looking down and refusing to meet Spencer's mother's eyes. "She didn't say it out loud but I don't think she's going to make it. I mean it didn't sound very promising last night," she explained. "So that's….that'll be hard."

"I'm sorry sweetie," Veronica said, reaching out and placing a hand over one of Alex's. "I'm sure she's doing everything she can to change that though."

"I know," Alex nodded. "She sounded pretty upset yesterday too," she explained. "I'm just going to do my best to stay focused though because I want to do well for everyone else. Plus I'm still going to have lots of people there for me. I'm really glad that you and Peter are coming."

"Of course," Veronica smiled. "We can't wait. Now how about you let me make you breakfast? Pancakes?"

"Sure," Alex replied with a smile. "But I get to help," she said before getting up and making her way around the island ready to start her day.

**CM-CM-CM-CM-CM-CM-CM-CM-CM-CM-CM-CM-CM-CM-CM-CM-CM-CM**

For Alex the morning seemed to drag by as she rehearsed her lines with the other students and practiced her songs with Mrs. Greer in the drama room. Every person she encountered that morning assured her she was ready and was going to do great, but the teen was becoming increasingly anxious as the morning wore on.

When Spencer came in to help with Alex's hair and makeup, Alex mostly remained silent as Spencer rambled on about insignificant things, doing her best to keep her best friend calm. A little while later Olivia and Zoey also joined the pair; Zoey's makeup and hair also done as Olivia seemed to be hiding from having to help anymore backstage.

"What's with the shirt?" Olivia asked after a while, noticing the soccer jersey that Alex was wearing. "Is it lucky or something?"

"It's JJ's," Alex replied, then picking up the Yale sweater that she had taken off when Spencer started on her hair. "This one's Emily's. I took them from their closet. Hopefully they'll be lucky though."

"You don't need luck," Zoey said. "You're already amazing."

"Thanks," Alex replied with a small smile.

"So Mrs. Greer said we should grab an early lunch," Spencer then told them. "We should probably head down to the cafeteria now, that way we have some time for you to change and what not before we have to start," she suggested.

"I don't really want to go to the cafeteria," Alex denied, not wanting to have to see other students before the play.

"Lex you should eat something," Zoey said.

"I know but I had a big breakfast, I'm really not hungry yet," Alex replied, only half lying. "Why don't you guys go and eat and just bring me back a sandwich later."

"We could bring our lunches back here," Olivia suggested. "Keep you company."

"No, no it's okay," Alex, said shaking her head. "I just need to be alone for a little while. I'll be fine. You guys go."

"Alright," Spencer agreed, understanding that her friend preferred being alone when she worried about things. "We'll be back in a little while. Don't stress yourself out too much," she then said with a smile.

"I won't," Alex laughed, watching as her three friends headed out into the hallway.

Now alone, the teen stood from where she had been seated, beginning to pace the room as she started muttering her lines to herself, wanting to be sure she wouldn't humiliate herself in front of the entire school in just over an hour. Alex kept assuring everyone that she wasn't that nervous but the truth was she was afraid of embarrassing herself in front of her peers. She knew she was a good singer, and she knew that she had her lines perfectly memorized but she worried that she would somehow mess up and let everyone down.

Lost in thought and still running her lines while she paced, Alex didn't hear anyone come into the room, not noticing as the visitor leaned against the doorframe, watching as the brunette continued to walk back and forth.

"You know you're going to ware a hole in the floor if you keep pacing like that," a voice filled the room, causing Alex to jump in fright, turning to see Logan standing in the doorway with an amused expression on his face.

"Oh hey," Alex greeted, trying to sound enthusiastic. "I didn't see you there."

"Obviously not," Logan laughed. "You okay?"

"Yeah," Alex replied. "I'm just going over my lines," she explained as she once again began to pace.

"Lex you know your lines," Logan said, moving to stand in the brunette's path. "You need to calm down. You're going to be amazing," he assured her. "You should just sit for a while and relax. Get something to eat," he said, reaching out and putting a hand on Alex's shoulder.

"I can't," Alex replied, shaking her head. "I need to make sure everything is perfect. I can't mess this up Logan. Everyone is going to be there and if I mess up everyone is going to know, and I'll never be able to live it down," she began to ramble. "I don't know what I was thinking. I never should have auditioned for the play. And what was Mrs. Greer thinking casting me as the lead? I'm only a freshman; I don't know what I'm doing. It should have been Chelsea, or anyone else really. I mean anyone would be better…." Rambling quickly, Alex was suddenly cut off by Logan's lips against hers, catching her off guard.

"I'm sorry," Logan laughed when he finally pulled away. "I just…you…you just had to stop talking," he said, resting his forehead against Alex's, who had a small smile on her face.

"Yeah…" Alex practically sighed, bringing a hand up to her lips, which felt like they were tingling. "It's...it's okay…" she whispered before once again meeting Logan's lips with hers.

**CM-CM-CM-CM-CM-CM-CM-CM-CM-CM-CM-CM-CM-CM-CM-CM-CM-CM**

Alex wasn't sure if getting your first kiss could somehow make you braver, but as she stepped out onto the stage in front of the entire school she felt a confidence that she hadn't felt all day. Suddenly she knew she would be fine, and she was. She got through every line and every song perfectly and in the end she received a very loud round of applause from the whole auditorium.

"Alex you were amazing!" Olivia squealed when Alex finally made her way back into the drama room after receiving congratulations from a whole lot of people she didn't know. "It was so so good!" She said as she threw her arms around her friend.

"She's right," Zoey agreed with a huge smile.

"Thanks," Alex laughed, accepting a hug from Zoey as well. "You made a pretty awesome munchkin if I do say so," she said, making her friend laugh.

"Guys," Spencer called, practically running into the room. "You were so great!" She said pulling both Alex and Zoey into a hug. "Alex the whole school is talking about how great you were. What the heck got into you? Before we left for lunch you seemed pretty freaked, but you didn't look it when you got up there at all."

"I don't know," Alex replied with a shrug, unable to keep the smile off her face. "Guess I just got really into it," she said, not ready to tell her friends about her kiss with Logan. "I'm starving now though," she laughed.

"Mrs. Greer is getting everyone pizza," Spencer said. "She said everyone needs to change out of their costumes though. She doesn't want anyone getting stains before tonight."

"Alright well I'm going to go change now then," Alex said grabbing her backpack and heading to one of the areas that had been sectioned off for students to change.

Alex felt exhilarated, proud to have gotten through her first performance, and knowing that the next one would be a breeze. Pulling her phone out of her bag, she checked to see if she had any messages, slightly disappointed that she still hadn't heard from Emily, meaning the brunette was likely busy with the case. Stuffing her phone back in her bag, Alex refused to allow herself to feel sad, much too excited to think about Emily and JJ's absence at the moment. Alex pulled off her costume and put it on a hanger to keep clean, before pulling on a pair of yoga pants and JJ's soccer jersey.

Coming back out into the drama room, Alex was immediately surrounded by people, all of them once again congratulating her on a job well done. It took her nearly half an hour to make her way back to her friends, by which point Logan had joined them, holding a plate of pizza out for the brunette to take.

"In case you haven't heard it enough already, you were amazing," Logan said, handing Alex her plate as she took a seat next to him on the floor, Spencer on her other side.

"Thanks," Alex smiled. "It feels pretty good."

The five friends sat together and ate, talking about various things, laughing and joking as various people came by to talk to Alex. The company of her friends kept Alex's mind off Emily and JJ, and she felt happy to be able to share such a great day with them, regardless of who else made it that night.

"Hi I'm looking for Alexandra Campbell," Alex heard coming from the drama room door, not immediately recognizing the voice as she stood, seeing Mrs. Greer looking around the room for her.

Alex slowly made her way to the door, unsure of who to expect until she saw a small blonde headed girl peak her head around the corner.

"Alex!" Lily called, running into the room and jumping into Alex's arms, who instantly lifted the five year old up onto her hip.

"Hey Lily," Alex greeted kissing the little girl's cheek as she made her way over to the door where the rest of the Jareaus were waiting. "Hi guys," she smiled, giving each member of JJ's family a one-armed hug as Lily remained in her arms.

"We got here early so we thought we'd come see you before the show," Sandy explained. "How was this afternoon?"

"She did wonderfully," Mrs. Greer, who was still standing in the doorway, replied.

"Thanks," Alex smiled. "Mrs. Greer these are my grandparents, Sandy and Andrew, and this is my Uncle Adam and my Aunt Sara," she said pointing to each person, missing the surprised, yet pleased looks that graced each of their faces. "And this is my little cousin Lily."

"It's nice to meet you all," Mrs. Greer said, shaking all four adult's hands. "You must be JJ's family," she then said, turning to Sandy. "She looks just like you."

"We are," Sandy nodded. "We came from Pennsylvania to be here for Alex's big night. We're very excited."

"Well your whole family has seats in the first two rows since Alex is our lead," Mrs. Greer said. "So I hope you enjoy it. Alex spend some time with your family, but don't forget to give yourself some time to get ready again."

"Okay, thanks," Alex smiled, watching as her teacher walked away before turning back to the Jareaus. "I'm so glad you guys are here. Come in, I want to introduce you to my friends, and then I'll show you around," she said, ushering everyone inside, excited to finally be with family.

**CM-CM-CM-CM-CM-CM-CM-CM-CM-CM-CM-CM-CM-CM-CM-CM-CM**

Alex spent as much time as she could with the Jareaus before she had to go get herself ready for the night's performance. She checked her phone once more, finding a voicemail from Elizabeth telling her she would wait for her after the play and to break a leg. Worried by the fact that Emily hadn't even sent her a text, Alex tried to keep her mind focused as she changed back into her costume before going to find Spencer to touch up for makeup and hair.

"You look great," Spencer said a little while later, having just finished redoing one of Alex's pigtails. "You ready for this?" She then asked.

"Definitely," Alex nodded, feeling confident after the afternoon's success.

"Still no Emily?" Spencer asked, not wanting to bring up the issue, but too curious not to.

"No," Alex replied, shaking her head. "But it's okay," she said, not sounding entirely convincing. "I wish they would at least message me though. I'm a little worried that something happened."

"Don't think like that," Spencer said. "I'm sure they're fine. They're probably just really busy with the case. Don't let your mind go to negative things Lex. Just keep your head in the play for now okay?"

"Okay," Alex said with a small smile.

"Alright well I got Vanessa to cover my backstage stuff tonight so I can watch with my parents, so I'm going to go find them," Spencer explained, pulling her friend into a hug. "Break a leg out there."

"Thanks Spence," Alex replied, hugging her friend a little tighter. "I'll see you after."

"See you," Spencer said before heading for the hallway.

Knowing she didn't have much time before she needed to get into place, Alex took a moment to look at herself in the mirror before making her way towards the auditorium. It wasn't until she was standing in place backstage, waiting the few minutes she had left before the curtain would rise, that Alex's thoughts once again drifted towards Emily and JJ, wishing she could have seen the couple before she had to go on. While she understood why Emily and JJ couldn't be there, she wished they could have been there to see what she had been working the last few months towards.

"Alright everyone places," Mrs. Greer said as she came into view. "Curtains coming up in 60 seconds. Break a leg everyone," she said before taking her place at the side of the stage.

Taking a deep breath Alex cleared her mind, counting down in her head as she waited for the curtain to go up, knowing that as soon as it did she would be able to see the Jareaus, along with Ambassador Prentiss there to support her.

"15 seconds," she heard someone whisper.

Standing in place, Alex watched as the curtain slowly began to rise, watching the audience so she could get a glimpse of her family before she had to begin. As the audience came into view, Alex let her eyes fall to the front center seats, expecting to find Sandy and Andrew looking back at her; momentarily shocked when she instead found the smiling faces of a certain brunette and blonde sitting there holding hands. Alex couldn't help the big smile that graced her face, feeling happier than ever to see her mothers there.

**CM-CM-CM-CM-CM-CM-CM-CM-CM-CM**

**Well I hope you understand why I focused the chapter on Alex. I really wanted to leave Emily and JJ getting back in time a surprise for as long as possible! I will make sure to explain the end of the case in the next chapter, and the next chapter will pick up right at the end of the play so there will be a big mother-daughter reunion to come! Hope you all enjoyed!**


	9. Chapter 9

**I feel like I have been doing so much better with updating, partially because I was really excited to write the last chapter and this one too! I must say I was overwhelmed by the amazing reviews I got from the last chapter! All of you were so incredibly kind, and it was so nice to see how many of you were anxiously waiting to find out if the ladies would make it to the play! I still can't believe people are actually reading my stories!**

**Thank you so much! –J**

**P.S I think the next chapter will be the last for this particular story!**

**Chapter 9**

The team had continued to struggle to get a hold of Phoebe's sister even after her plane was scheduled to land. But, with Garcia's help they had been able to get someone at the airport to call for the young woman in order to get her on the phone.

Phoebe's sister Samantha had informed the team that her younger sister had been staying with her up until a couple weeks ago, when she had decided to move in with her boyfriend. Samantha was able to give them the address, which was unfortunately an hour outside of the city. Using their sirens they had gotten there in record time, approaching the house in the dead of night and kicking in the door to find Phoebe's current boyfriend stabbed to death in the entryway.

McPherson had been holding Phoebe hostage in the upstairs bedroom; the blonde sobbing as she sat tied to a chair, bleeding from several cuts up and down her arms. The second McPherson had heard the team enter the house, he had stood behind Phoebe, keeping his knife to her neck and yelling for the team to stay back. Morgan had spent what felt like an hour trying to talk the man down; to convince him to let Phoebe go and to walk away, but ultimately Emily had been forced to take the shot to bring the man down.

The team had known that McPherson was unlikely to go quietly. They knew he would probably force one of them to shoot him, and while Emily was relieved for the end of the case, she couldn't help but be frustrated, knowing she wouldn't be able to leave until her shooting was cleared. The whole team, minus JJ; who was still at the station, had stayed at the crime scene until the early hours of the morning, before heading straight to the police station, wanting to help close up any paperwork as quickly as possible so they could get on the jet and head back home.

Emily had wanted to call Alex as soon as they had gotten back to the station, but she was reluctant in case something happened to keep them from getting back home. As she watched the team hustle through their paperwork though, Emily felt confident she would get back home in time for Alex's play, now deciding to surprise the teen rather than letting her know they would be there.

So later that morning the team had gotten on the jet, everyone using the flight to catch some sleep since they hadn't gotten any the night before. When they landed everyone agreed to meet later at the school, all heading home to get a couple more hours of sleep before getting to the school for 6:30pm.

As they drove to the school Emily began to feel guilty, worried that Alex may be upset that she hadn't heard from her all day, but as she saw the look on her daughter's face when she saw her and JJ sitting in the front row, Emily knew it was worth it. A smile had immediately lit up Alex's face, and for a brief moment Emily worried the teen would miss her intro, but in a flash Alex was back in character.

Emily had spent the entire performance clutching JJ's hand, her eyes filling with tears from the first note that Alex sang, as she was overcome with pride. She was on the edge of her seat until the very last moment, and when Alex came out for her final bow, Emily was the first one on her feet, immediately joined by the rest of the audience who gave the teen a well-deserved standing ovation. Alex was beaming with happiness and Emily couldn't wait to congratulate her in person.

When the curtain finally closed Emily and JJ led Elizabeth, the Jareaus and the team to the hallway outside the auditorium, waiting for Alex, whom Emily knew would seek them out. Everyone began chatting amongst themselves, talking about how great Alex had done, while Emily scanned the hallways, looking over heads in search of her daughter.

"Emily!" Emily heard, turning to see Alex running towards her, still in her costume, a big smile on her face.

In an instant the teen was in Emily's arms, Emily lifting her off the ground for a moment before kissing her on the cheek.

"You're here," Alex said emotionally, holding her mother tight.

"You were so amazing baby," Emily said, feeling so incredibly proud. "You did so, so good!" She repeated, rubbing Alex's back, while the rest of the family watched on with smiles on their faces.

Emily felt the tears before she heard Alex's muffled sob against her shoulder, pulling back in an attempt to see her daughter's face, which was now being hidden against her sweater. "Alex," Emily said in concern, continuing to rub the teen's back. "Honey."

"I'm s-sorry," Alex cried, keeping her face hidden. "I…I was such a jerk."

"No, hey," Emily said, turning to kiss the teen's temple. "None of that okay? I am so proud of you. Do you hear me? You were so amazing."

"I…I'm just so happy you're here," Alex sobbed.

"Me too baby," Emily agreed emotionally. "Me too."

"JJ?" Alex then called; reaching out an arm, knowing the blonde wouldn't be too far away.

"Right here," JJ replied, joining the two brunettes, as Alex instantly wrapped an arm around her, moving her head so that it was now between Emily and JJ. "You did so great baby. We are so proud of you," the blonde said, kissing the teen's head.

"I missed you guys," Alex sniffed, starting to calm down as she got control of her tears.

"We missed you too," JJ replied. "So much."

"You know there's a few other people here who missed you too," Emily then said, knowing everyone else was probably anxiously waiting to congratulate Alex. "Think you might want to say hello to all of them?"

"Yeah okay," Alex nodded against her shoulder, still not letting go of the two women. "Just one more minute?" She then asked, not quite ready to let go.

"Of course," Emily said as both she and JJ once again kissed the young brunette. "As long as you need."

**CM-CM-CM-CM-CM-CM-CM-CM-CM-CM-CM-CM-CM-CM-CM-CM-CM**

It had taken a long time for Alex to get through her whole group of friends and family, receiving hugs and congrats from each of them. She had also been given flowers and cookie bouquets, and she couldn't have felt more loved by the group of people surrounding her. Her friends had all stopped by at some point to tell her how well she did and even Logan had come by to give her a big hug, an action which caused the young brunette's face to instantly turn red in embarrassment.

"You know we don't have to go into work tomorrow," Rossi said a little while later as they all still stood gathered in the school hallway. "And Alex doesn't have school. I think this calls for a celebration," he suggested. "Late night pizzas, drinks, a toast to our little starlet here."

"I think that sounds like a great idea," Emily agreed. "Does everyone want to meet back at our place?"

"Please," Adam said. "I've been waiting all day to see the new place."

"That sounds good to me," Morgan added, everyone else nodding their agreement.

"I need to go get changed," Alex said, gesturing to the blue dress she was still wearing. "Will you come with me?" She asked, turning to Emily.

"Of course," Emily replied, smiling as Alex held out her hand for Emily to take.

"Well why don't I ride with my parents so they know where they're going, and we can get to the house and get everything ready," JJ suggested. "You two can meet us there."

"Sounds perfect," Emily agreed. "We'll see you all in a little bit," she said, giving the blonde a quick kiss before allowing Alex to lead her away.

Alex held Emily's hand tightly, completely unembarrassed as people continually stopped her to tell her what a great job she had done. It took a while but eventually they made it to the drama room where other students were still gathering their things. Alex found her bag before pulling Emily towards one of the sectioned off areas where she could change.

"I need help with the zipper," Alex said, finally releasing Emily's hand so she could turn around.

"You did so well kid," Emily said as she pulled the zipper down so Alex could get out of her costume. "You were a complete natural up there."

"I was a little nervous," Alex admitted pulling the dress off before moving to grab her yoga pants from her bag. "I got worried when I didn't hear from you today."

"I'm sorry," Emily replied shaking her head. "I worried that if I called too early, that something would happen and we wouldn't make it back. And then I thought that maybe we could surprise you," she explained. "I didn't mean to make you worry."

"It's alright," Alex said, pulling out JJ's soccer jersey and putting it over her head. "As soon as I saw you two sitting there I felt a million times better," she smiled.

"I like your shirt," Emily said, immediately recognizing the jersey as JJ's.

"You'll probably like my sweater too," Alex replied, pulling out Emily's Yale sweatshirt and putting it on over the t-shirt.

"You been raiding our closet?"

"I just needed something…comforting," Alex shrugged before Emily pulled her into a hug. "I know that tonight and the next few days are going to be really busy, and there are going to be a lot of people around, but do you think that later we can all just sit down and talk for a while? Just the three of us?" The teen asked, looking up at Emily with big brown eyes. "I really missed you guys."

"Of course," Emily replied kissing the top of the shorter brunette's head. "That sounds perfect actually, because we both missed you like crazy too."

**CM-CM-CM-CM-CM-CM-CM-CM-CM-CM-CM-CM-CM-CM-CM-CM-CM**

"Emily would you like to do the honours?" Andrew Jareau asked later that night as everyone sat gathered around Emily and JJ's living room, plates of pizza in front of them and drinks in their hands. "I mean I do remember hearing something about a toast."

"Of course," Emily smiled, giving JJ's hand a squeeze and patting Alex's knee before getting up from her spot on the couch and turning to face the whole room. "Let me just start by saying, I don't think I have ever been prouder than I am today," she began, turning to Alex with a big smile. "Alex when you came back into my life I had no idea how much you would change it, but life has been so much better with you here," she continued emotionally, seeing tears instantly fill her daughter's eyes. "You are just such a bright light and you amaze me every day with your intelligence, your talent and your humour. I am so proud to be able to call you my daughter," she said before raising her glass. "So I was like to propose a toast to Alex, whom I know we're all extremely proud of today. Congratulations honey."

"To Alex," everyone chorused, clinking glasses as Alex wiped away a few tears before standing to hug Emily.

"I just…I wanted to say thank you," Alex then said, looking around the room. "To all of you, for being here tonight. It really means a lot to me that all of you would be here for me. This week hasn't exactly been picture perfect," she then said turning to where Emily had returned to sit next to JJ. "But I know you guys worked really hard to be here today, so thank you. And I love you guys…all of you," she laughed, looking around at the people who had so easily become her family.

"Here, here," Rossi called as Alex went to sit between Emily and JJ, both of whom placed kisses on the teen's cheek.

Everyone then began eating, happy to be together, and thrilled that the team had been able to make it home in time for Alex. They all knew this night could have ended very differently, and no one, especially Emily liked to think about how Alex would have reacted had they not been there.

"I must say this place is gorgeous little sister," Adam eventually said, looking around the large main floor in awe. "Great place for kids to grow up in."

"That's what we thought too," JJ nodded. "It'll look even better in here when we finally have some time to make it our own though," she said gesturing to the walls, which were still pretty much bare. "We've only spent one night here, we haven't really gotten to decorate yet."

"I'd be happy to help with that while I'm here," Sara offered. "You know how much I love decorating."

"Yeah she basically changes the house around once a week," Adam teased, earning a glare from his wife.

"I can help with Alex's room!" Lily added enthusiastically.

"Thanks Lil," Alex smiled, knowing she still had a few posters and things she wanted to add to her room. "That would be great," she said, putting a huge smile on the five-year-old's face.

"So Lexi, how does it feel to be a big star?" Garcia then asked from where she was sitting with Morgan.

"I wouldn't say I'm a star," Alex laughed. "But today was really cool. I mean everyone was really nice. It was a lot of fun."

"You definitely looked like you were having fun," Haley, who had come with Hotch, said.

"Yeah and you've got some wicked pipes on you Princess," Morgan added.

"Thanks," Alex laughed.

"And are you planning on going out for the spring musical as well?" Elizabeth asked.

"Well I want to," Alex replied. "But I really want to try out for the soccer team too, so I'm not sure how that will work out. I mean if I have enough time to do both I definitely will."

"You'll have to make sure that your school work comes first," Sandy reminded the teen.

"Of course," Alex quickly agreed.

"Don't worry mom," JJ said. "Lex is a brainiac like her mother. She asked me to edit one of her papers once and I didn't even understand half the words she used."

"She's exaggerating," Alex insisted, shaking her head and looking embarrassed.

"She's actually not," Reid chimed in. "I remember when she was reading that paper she asked me quite a few questions," he explained, making everyone laugh.

"Well whatever you choose to do next term I can't wait," Garcia said excitedly. "I can totally be a cheerleader and I would love to see you in another musical too!"

"Thanks Penelope," Alex laughed, knowing that the blonde would definitely make sure she could watch Alex do whatever she chose to do. "You know we haven't had a game night in a while," the teen then said, turning to Emily with a grin. "Charades?" She suggested.

"Only if you're with me," Emily replied with a smile.

"Deal!"

**CM-CM-CM-CM-CM-CM-CM-CM-CM-CM-CM-CM-CM-CM-CM-CM-CM-CM**

It was late by the time the team and Elizabeth left, but true to her word, after getting the Jareaus all set up in their rooms, Emily invited Alex to come down to her and JJ's room so the three of them could talk like Alex asked. While Sara put Lily to bed in Alex's room, the teen followed Emily down to her room, crawling into bed next to JJ as Emily shut the door before sitting on Alex's other side.

"What's going on chicky?" Emily asked. "What did you want to talk about?"

"I just wanted to apologize," Alex began.

"Honey it was a tough week," JJ interrupted. "We completely understand that."

"I know, but I acted like a brat when I was ignoring you guys," Alex argued. "And I wasn't fair to you."

"What do you mean?" Emily asked, slightly confused.

"When I thought you guys weren't going to be here….I kept…I was…" Alex began stumbling over her words, eventually reassured by Emily's hand on her leg. "…I just kept thinking that….my parents never would have missed the play," she confessed, looking ashamed. "I just kept thinking that my parents were always around for everything and so I was upset with you guys…but that wasn't fair to you. My parents had different jobs. Things were different with them and it isn't fair to compare you guys like that, so I'm sorry."

"It's okay kid," Emily assured her, rubbing her leg in comfort. "It was hard when you wouldn't talk to us, but we understood that you were upset. And I get the thing about your parents too hun, really I do. We're still getting used to some things and at times it will be hard not to think about how things would have been different with your parents."

"Em's right," JJ agreed. "We completely understand babe."

"Thanks," Alex smiled. "I really do love you guys."

"We know kid," Emily laughed. "And we love you too," she said pulling the teen into her arms as JJ did the same from the other side, kissing the younger brunette's cheek.

"Logan kissed me," Alex then blurted out.

"What?!"

"Excuse me?" Emily exclaimed, pulling back to look at Alex properly.

"I got really nervous this afternoon and I was rambling on about how I shouldn't have auditioned, and how Mrs. Greer shouldn't have picked me and then all of a sudden he kissed me," Alex explained.

"He just kissed you?" Emily said, looking surprised.

"Mmm hmm," Alex nodded.

"Was this your first kiss?" JJ asked.

"Yeah."

"Oh my goodness that's so exciting!" JJ replied sounding excited.

"It was your first kiss?" Emily asked again, Alex nodding in reply. "You had your first kiss!"

"Are you gonna cry?" Alex questioned surprisingly, watching as Emily's eyes filled with unshed tears.

"What? No," Emily replied, shaking her head. "I just…you…I…you had your first kiss," the brunette repeated.

"I think Emily is at a loss for words," JJ laughed. "So how was it kid? Everything you imagined?" She joked.

"It was a little awkward at first," Alex replied honestly. "I mean I wasn't exactly expecting it so I was caught off guard. But then I kissed him again and that one was much better," she confessed, making Emily's eyes go wide as JJ laughed in amusement.

"Go Lex!" JJ laughed, shoving the teen enthusiastically. "So are you two like a couple now?" She asked, as Emily remained silent.

"I don't know…no," Alex replied. "I mean he hasn't asked me or anything."

"I bet he will," JJ told her, before looking over the teen's head at Emily. "You okay there Em?"

"Hmm? Oh…yeah," Emily nodded. "Just…you had your first kiss."

"I did," Alex laughed, resting her head on Emily's shoulder as the older brunette wrapped her arm around her. "I know I'm supposed to share a room with Lily, but do you think…could I maybe…"

"You wanna stay in here?" Emily finished for her.

"Could I?"

"I'll go let Adam and Sara know, just in case Lily needs them," JJ said, kissing the teen's temple before heading for the hallway.

"I'm so glad you guys are home," Alex sighed, sinking down into the bed; Emily's arm still wrapped around her as she too lay down.

"Me too love," Emily agreed. "Me too."


	10. Chapter 10

**Alright everybody, this one's the last chapter for this little story! At first I wasn't going to write Christmas (because it's September and I don't want to think about winter yet), but I decided to write it anyways because I just couldn't resist ending the story with a happy Christmas day! I really hope you guys like it.**

**I plan on starting my next story right away, but I actually thought of doing something a little different. My next story idea was pretty serious (and dramatic), so I kind of wanted to write something a little happier and light first, so I thought I might do a story of just some little moments. Probably not a case, just happy family things. So I wanted to hear from you guys! IF there's anything you'd really like to read…maybe some JJ/Emily moments, JJ/Alex, Alex/Emily…team stuff whatever you guys want tell me and I'm going to try and write them in! Any ideas you might have let me know! I have a couple things I want to do, but I'd love to incorporate any of your ideas where I can!**

**Thanks for sticking with me through another one! Keep an eye out for the next and please send your ideas! -J**

**Chapter 10**

"Alex….Alex wake up….Alex it's Christmas you have to get up…." Lily whispered into Alex's ear. "Alex," she repeated, earning a groan from the brunette.

"Too early," Alex mumbled, burying her face in her pillow, attempting to ignore the tiny blonde who was currently sitting on her back.

"But it's Christmas!" Lily exclaimed loudly, bouncing a little, which earned another groan from the teen. "We have to go see if Santa came. Come on we have to get up!"

"Lily we can't," Alex said, turning over and knocking the five-year-old off her back, the blonde falling beside her in a fit of giggles.

"Why not?" Lily asked, her big blue eyes begging the teen.

"We can't go down without the parents," Alex explained. "They're not up yet, so go back to sleep for a little longer and then we can all go see what Santa brought you okay?" She said, rolling over on her side and closing her eyes, hoping her cousin would listen to her, but knowing it was highly unlikely.

"I'll go wake mommy then," Lily said instead, jumping out of bed and running out of the room.

Hoping Adam and Sara would be able to distract the small blonde for a little while longer, Alex pulled her blankets up to her chin, closing her eyes. She instantly felt herself drifting off again, almost back to sleep by the time she felt the bed dip beside her. Knowing it wasn't Lily returning, Alex squinted open an eye, the sight of blonde hair on the pillow beside her telling her that it was JJ.

"Still dark…too early," Alex muttered scooting in closer to the blonde.

"I know," JJ mumbled, wrapping her arms around Alex and pulling her in closer. "…Left Lily with Em…need more sleep." She said, her eyes closed as she let herself begin to drift back off to sleep, Alex's face buried against her shoulder.

"Merry Christmas," Alex whispered with a yawn.

"Hmm you too," JJ replied sleepily as she felt the teen's breathing begin to even out indicating that she had fallen back asleep. JJ kissed the top of Alex's head before she too let sleep take her. The pair had been asleep nearly ten minutes before someone else came into the room, standing in the doorway and watching the two sleeping females in disbelief.

"Jen are you serious?" Emily yelled as she came into the room.

"Hmm? What?" JJ asked sleepily, her eyes still closed, as Alex grumbled and further hid her face in JJ's shirt.

"You just left me in there with that little bouncing blonde," Emily whined, getting into the bed on the other side of Alex. "She jumped on me until I got out of bed," she said, poking Alex in the side as she heard the teen giggle.

"Where is she now?" JJ asked.

"I don't know probably jumping on everyone else in the house," Emily replied grumpily before cuddling up close to Alex, burying her face in the teen's dark locks. "Merry Christmas baby," the older brunette said, kissing the back of her daughter's head.

"Merry Christmas," Alex replied, reaching behind her to take one of Emily's hands in hers.

The three fell into silence, cuddled up together, all awake and yet too tired to move from their current position. The past few days had been filled with nothing but family time, everyone getting ready for Christmas and enjoying their time together. JJ, Emily and Alex were loving having not only the Jareaus, but also Elizabeth, and at times the team around, but the three had barely had any time together so they were happy for this moment alone. Their moment was short lived though as Lily came bounding back into the room.

"Mommy said we can go downstairs now," Lily shouted loudly. "You have to get up!"

"Alright Lily Bug," JJ groaned, reluctantly releasing Alex and rolling over so she could sit up. "We're coming little one just hold your horses."

"I don't have any horses Aunt JJ," Lily giggled, running over to the side of Alex's bed to greet her Aunt. "Merry Christmas!" She said, reaching out her arms for the older blonde to lift her up.

"Merry Christmas Munchkin," JJ said kissing her niece's cheek. "Hey you two sleepy heads," she then called towards the two brunettes who were still lying lazily in the bed. "Time to get your cute butts out of bed."

"Yeah come on Alex! Come on Aunt Emily!" Lily yelled excitedly. "It's time to see what Santa brought!"

**CM-CM-CM-CM-CM-CM-CM-CM-CM-CM-CM-CM-CM-CM-CM-CM-CM-CM**

"Alex look at this!" Lily shouted excitedly holding up the baby doll that Santa had brought her.

"Lily indoor voice please," Sara laughed, shaking her head at her daughter's excitement.

"That's awesome Lil," Alex smiled from where she was sitting beside Emily, a pile of her own presents surrounding her.

Emily had told herself that she wouldn't go overboard on Christmas, but as she hit the malls with JJ beside her she just kept thinking about all the Christmases she had missed with her daughter; spoiling both Alex and Lily a little more than she should have. Alex had gotten new sweaters and pajamas, a few news books and the iPod she had asked for; thanking Emily and JJ with each new box she opened.

"Oh that one's from us," Adam said, watching as Alex picked up a small box at the top of her pile.

Ripping open the paper, Alex revealed a small velvet box, opening it to find a charm bracelet with a small ruby slipper charm on it.

"Oh my God," Alex whispered, looking up at Adam and Sara, with wide, surprised eyes. "This is so nice."

"Adam picked it out," Sara told the teen proudly.

"Well it seemed fitting," Adam shrugged, trying to act like it wasn't a big deal, when he was really very excited to see how happy the teen was with her gift.

"Thanks Uncle Adam," Alex said standing from her seat so she could hug JJ's brother. "Thanks Aunt Sara," she said, hugging Sara as well. "I love it."

JJ watched this interaction with tears in her eyes, moved by how easily Alex had accepted her family in her life, and touched by how much her brother seemed to care about Alex as well. "Let me see," JJ called out, waving the teen towards her. "Wow Adam this is gorgeous," the blonde smiled, showing the bracelet to Emily beside her. "Way nicer than anything you've ever given me," she joked.

"Yeah well I like Alex better," Adam laughed, earning a glare from his sister and a smack from his wife.

"Will you put it on for me?" Alex asked, holding her wrist out to JJ.

JJ took the bracelet out of the box, opening the clasp and putting it around the teen's slender wrist. "Looks great," the blonde smiled, still holding Alex's hand.

"I love it," Alex exclaimed happily. "I can't wait to show the girls."

"It really is beautiful guys," Emily agreed, having heard about the bracelet from Sara who wanted to make sure Emily was okay with her and Adam giving her daughter such an extravagant gift. "Lex hun JJ and I have something else for you," she then said, holding up an envelope for the younger brunette.

"You already got me a lot," Alex said, looking around at the pile of new things from Emily and JJ.

"I know, but this one's special," Emily insisted, pushing the envelope into her daughter's hands. "Just open it."

Taking the envelope, Alex peeled open the back and took out the papers inside. "Plane tickets?" Alex asked, looking up at Emily and JJ questioningly.

"To Chicago," Emily smiled, watching as Alex's eyes lit up with excitement.

"Really?"

"Really," Emily nodded. "We're leaving the day after tomorrow. You, me, JJ and Spencer."

"Spencer's coming?"

"Yep," Emily laughed. "I thought you might like getting to show her around. She can meet Rachel."

"Thank you, thank you, thank you," Alex practically yelled, throwing her arms around both Emily and JJ's necks. "Does Rachel know?"

"We talked to her parents to make sure Rachel would be free to spend some time with us, but they haven't told her yet," Emily explained. "They thought they'd let you do that."

"Can I go call her?" Alex then asked, pulling back and looking excited.

"Of course," Emily laughed. "Just don't be too long okay?"

"I won't, promise," Alex replied. "Thank you…again," she said kissing first Emily's cheek, then JJ's. "You guys are the best," she called before running for the stairs to call her best friend from home.

"That's a pretty great gift," Andrew said from where he was watching the interaction on the couch beside Sandy.

"Yeah, well she's been asking about going back to Chicago for a while now," Emily replied. "We talked to Dr. Sullivan and she thought that going might make the holidays easier for Alex."

"She seems to be doing really well," Sandy pointed out, knowing that Alex struggled quite a bit during Thanksgiving.

"We've been trying really hard to talk about her parents all week," Emily explained. "We wanted to make sure she knew it was okay to talk about them. I know she had a really good talk with Jen the other day, which I think really helped."

"That's great," Sandy smiled.

"She's a really great kid," Adam said. "I mean Lily Bug over there loves her," he said gesturing to the little blonde who was currently preoccupied with her new dollhouse. "And I just think she's great."

"Oh really, we couldn't tell Uncle Adam," JJ teased. "When did that happen anyways? You guys have been here all weekend and I've never heard her call you that."

"Actually she introduced us to her teacher as her Aunt and Uncle on Thursday," Adam replied. "She called mom and dad her grandparents too."

"Really?" JJ asked sounding both surprised and emotional.

"Jen does that really surprise you?" Emily asked, taking the blonde's hand. "That girl loves you so much, obviously she would look at your family as her family too."

"Yeah…it's just really nice to hear," JJ shrugged, wiping away a tear, which was in a large part due to hormones.

"Emily, JJ," Alex voice called, as the teen could be heard running back down the stairs. "I almost forgot to give you guys these," she said, handing each woman an identically wrapped box.

"Of honey thank you," Emily said, accepting the box from the teen.

"Elizabeth said it was her job as Grandmother to buy presents for the parents so she took me the other day to pick these out," the teen explained. "Go ahead, open them."

Sharing a glance with each other, both Emily and JJ began to unwrap their gifts, pulling off the paper to reveal velvet boxes. Opening the boxes both women let out identical gasps as they revealed the silver necklaces inside.

"Lex," JJ whispered, covering her mouth in surprise as her eyes once again filled with tears.

"It's an infinity symbol," Alex explained unnecessarily. "And those are all of our birth stones on the side there," she pointed out. "Mine, Emily's and yours, and then that one is for May since that's when the baby is due. The guy said that if the baby comes early or late we can get the stone switched out, but I wanted to make sure it was in there for now. Do you like it?" She asked, looking from one woman to the other.

"It's beautiful honey," JJ said. "Thank you so much."

"Yeah…this is…this is just perfect," Emily agreed, placing a hand on the teen's cheek before pulling her closer to kiss her forehead. "Thank you."

"You're welcome," Alex replied with a huge smile. "I just wanted you guys to have something that represented our family," she said, smiling as both women placed an arm around her and pulled her in close.

**CM-CM-CM-CM-CM-CM-CM-CM-CM-CM-CM-CM-CM-CM-CM-CM-CM-CM**

"That was fantastic," Adam said later that day as everyone finished up their dinner, pushing his chair back from the table and placing a hand on his now full stomach.

"Yes that was delicious," Elizabeth, who had joined the Jareaus earlier that afternoon, agreed. "You did a wonderful job Sandy."

"Thank you Elizabeth," Sandy smiled. "Sara and Jenny helped as well though, so I can't take all the credit."

"You didn't help Emster?" Garcia teased.

Having no family in the area, Garcia, Rossi and Reid; who planned on visiting his mother before New Years, had joined the Prentiss/Jareau clan for their Holiday celebrations. Hotch was spending Christmas with Haley, Jack and Haley's family while Morgan had travelled to Chicago, where he planned to stay; flying back with Emily and JJ when they can back from their trip in the city.

"I provided the wine," Emily said sticking her tongue out at the technical analyst childishly. "Plus the Jareau ladies kicked me out of the kitchen."

"That's because you've been doing the cooking all week Em," JJ said. "You deserved a break."

"I like cooking for everyone," Emily said with a shrug.

"And she learned from some of the best," Elizabeth added. "She was always hanging out in our kitchens with the cooks, convincing them to teach her things," she remembered, making Emily smile at the fact that her mother had actually recalled something from her childhood.

"Mommy can me, Alex and Penny go play now?" Lily asked from her seat between Alex and Garcia, who she had become very fond of.

"Only if they want to go play honey," Sara laughed, shaking her head as her daughter looked from Alex to Garcia with big, pleading eyes.

"Oh how can anyone say no to those Jareau blues?" Garcia said. "I'm in Goldie Locks. What about you Lexi?"

"Definitely," Alex agreed, ruffling Lily's hair, making the little blonde giggle. "You coming Reid?" She then asked, turning to the genius whose company she always enjoyed.

"Sure," Reid agreed, following the three females down the hall where most of Lily's new toys were currently residing.

"You know the rest of you should go sit in the living room," Emily then told the group. "Go relax. I'll clean up here and then bring some coffee and cookies in later."

"No Em I'll help you," JJ said, already standing to begin collecting plates.

"Oh no, no," Elizabeth intervened, standing up and taking the plates from JJ. "I'll get that Jennifer," she insisted. "You go in the other room and put your feet up. You get some rest for that little one," she said placing a hand on JJ's small baby bump.

"Thank you Elizabeth," JJ smiled, knowing there was no use arguing with Emily's mother. "Come on the rest of you. You heard the ladies," she then said, leading the rest of the group towards the living room.

"Thanks mom," Emily said as she and the older brunette began collecting things from the table and bringing them into the kitchen.

"You know JJ has quite the family," Elizabeth said, making small talk. "They're great."

"They are," Emily agreed. "And they've really taken to Alex, which is great. The kid adores them."

"She does seem incredibly happy with everyone here," Elizabeth stated. "That necklace looks beautiful on you by the way," she then said, pointing towards Emily's neck where her new necklace now sat.

"Oh yeah, it's great," Emily smiled. "Thank you by the way. Lex told me you took her and bought these. I mean you really didn't have to do that."

"Oh please it was nothing," Elizabeth brushed off. "And it was all Alex really. She was really excited about picking something for you two. And she really wanted it to be about your family," the Ambassador explained. "It was really nice to see. She really loves both of you."

"She's such a great kid," Emily said, putting down a stack of plates and leaning against the counter to face her mother. "You know I never imagined that this would be how I would be ending my year," the younger brunette confessed. "I mean having Alex here, being with Jen, a baby on the way and surrounded by family. And you. I never thought I'd be celebrating Christmas with you here too."

"You have come a long way this year haven't you," Elizabeth said. "You've done really well with Alexandra and you and Jennifer make a wonderful couple. You're great together."

"Thanks mom," Emily replied emotionally. "I'm really glad you're here."

**CM-CM-CM-CM-CM-CM-CM-CM-CM-CM-CM-CM-CM-CM-CM-CM-CM-CM**

"Is Lily already asleep?" Emily asked Alex later that night, catching the teen as she came out of her bathroom in her pajamas.

"Yeah she's passed out," Alex laughed walking into Emily's arms, sighing as the older brunette rested her chin on top of her head, rubbing a hand up and down her back.

"You going to bed too then?" Emily asked.

"Yeah I'm exhausted," the teen yawned, burying her face in her mother's shirt. "Today was really great."

"It was wasn't it," Emily agreed, pressing a kiss on the top of Alex's head. "And you're doing okay with everything? I mean are you…I don't know what's I'm asking," she laughed.

"I'm really excited to go to Chicago," Alex replied. "That really made me feel better about everything, so thank you. I've been really wanting to visit them…you know the cemetery."

"I know," Emily nodded, stroking the teen's long brown hair.

"Hey are you two cuddling without me?" JJ called quietly, coming up from the stairs to find the two brunettes still holding each other tight. Making her way down the hall the blonde immediately came up behind Alex, reaching her arms around both brunettes. The three stayed like this, standing together in silence, all three happy and yet exhausted.

"I need to go to bed," Alex eventually mumbled from her place squished between Emily and JJ. "Or else I'm going to fall asleep standing up."

"Alright get to bed," Emily laughed, leaning down to kiss the teen's cheek. "Love you kiddo."

"Love you too," Alex replied, hugging the brunette once more before turning to face JJ. "Love you JJ," she said, kissing the blonde's cheek.

"I love you too," JJ replied, releasing the teen so she could head to her room. "Night," she called, Alex waving before shutting her bedroom door behind her.

"You ready to head to bed Agent Jareau?" Emily then asked, taking the blonde's hand in hers.

"Mmm hmm," JJ nodded sleepily, allowing Emily to lead her down the hall towards their room. "You know today was pretty perfect."

"Yes it was," Emily agreed. "We have quite the family."

"That we do," JJ laughed. "This definitely goes down as one of my best Christmases ever though," she said, turning the brunette around to face her as the stood in the middle of their bedroom, wrapping her arms around the taller woman's waist before giving her a light kiss. "I love you. You know that?"

"Mmm I do," Emily replied pulling the blonde in for another, more passionate kiss. "I love you too, by the way," she laughed when they finally pulled apart. "You know, I do have one more gift for you."

"Oh yeah," JJ replied, already playing with the hem of the brunette's shirt as she began to back them towards the bed, suddenly feeling much more awake. "And where is this gift?"

"It's…" Kiss. "Right…." Kiss. "Over…" Kiss. "Here…" Emily said, pulling the blonde in for one last breathtaking kiss before pulling them both down onto the bed.

**The End**

**Until Next Time That Is!**


End file.
